Washington, United States

US military personnel were arriving in quake-hit Venezuela to help expand airport capacity and reopen a key seaport to support relief efforts, the US Southern Command said in a statement on Sunday.

Simon Bolivar International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, was partially reopened Saturday after suffering damage in Wednesday's twin quakes along the country's northern coast.

A team of about 100 airmen with airfield management expertise and related equipment arrived Sunday to assist local authorities in "expanding the vital flow of inbound and outbound air traffic," the SOUTHCOM statement said.

About 130 Marines were to arrive at the hard-hit port of La Guaira within the next 24 hours to help "open the port for much needed supplies and equipment to reach the heaviest hit parts of Venezuela by sea," the statement said.

The current death toll from the disaster stands at 1,450, with tens of thousands of people still missing as people desperately search for survivors under piles of rubble.

Sailors and Marines from the USS Fort Lauderdale delivered supplies to the port of La Guaira on Sunday using a landing craft, SOUTHCOM said.

The US military has also deployed various aircraft and helicopters to help with recovery efforts.

A US Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft was transporting personnel and equipment, and US Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys were delivering personnel and supplies, SOUTHCOM said.

US Marine UH-1Y Venom helicopters with the USS Fort Lauderdale were supporting aerial assessments of quake-hit areas.

The US State Department has already sent a disaster response team of more than 250 personnel, including three special search-and-rescue units with dogs, to help locate survivors.

Last week, the US said it was mobilizing $150 million in aid to Venezuela.

mjf/ksb