A 12-year-old girl has been rescued after spending 32 hours trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed apartment building following two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela last month, leaving more than 3,300 people dead and thousands still missing.
The earthquakes hit northern Venezuela on 24 June, with the second tremor registering a magnitude of 7.5, making it one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the country in a century.
At the time of the disaster, spinning instructor Karina Blanco was preparing to begin a fitness class when the ground started shaking violently. Realising the severity of the situation, she rushed to her car and drove toward her home in the coastal town of Caraballeda, fearing for her daughter, Fabiana.
When she arrived, she found that their 10-storey apartment building had completely collapsed.
“I could see one building, then a gap where my building stood, and then another building,” Karina recalled.
Inside the building, Fabiana had been alone in the family’s first-floor apartment. She said she initially ran from her mother’s bedroom into the kitchen as furniture and objects began falling around her. Moments later, the walls collapsed, throwing her to the ground.
“I thought I was going to die. I didn’t think anyone would rescue me,” the young girl said.
Outside, Karina spotted part of her daughter’s bed protruding from the debris and feared the worst.
“I was screaming that my daughter was dead. I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
Trapped beneath layers of concrete and rubble, Fabiana remained remarkably calm despite suffering from anxiety and claustrophobia. A nurse who had also been trapped nearby eventually called out and discovered that Fabiana was still alive.
Several hours later, the nurse was rescued and informed volunteers that a young girl remained trapped inside the building.
Karina, who had already begun preparing herself for life without her daughter, was overcome with emotion after hearing the news.
“I had surrendered to God and was asking for strength to continue without Fabiana. Then someone told me she was alive,” she said.
As rescue efforts continued, hope repeatedly turned to despair. Initial rescue teams were unable to locate the girl and left the site, fearing there was little chance of survival.
Meanwhile, beneath the debris, Fabiana found her mobile phone. Although there was no network signal, she recorded a video message in the hope that someone would eventually see it.
In the recording, she described being trapped in her apartment and pleaded for help, saying that many neighbours were also buried under the rubble.
A volunteer named Viktor eventually climbed onto the collapsed structure and called out for survivors. This time, Fabiana heard him and responded.
“I turned and screamed that my daughter was alive,” Karina said. “People began arriving with tools to help.”
Additional rescue teams later reached the site and worked throughout the night. Residents and volunteers used vehicle headlights and motorcycle lamps to illuminate the debris as rescuers slowly dug toward the trapped girl.
After painstaking efforts, rescuers finally created a small opening through which they could see Fabiana. Video footage of the smiling teenager peering through the hole has since spread widely across Venezuela.
“After being trapped for so many hours, seeing them made me realise I was going to be rescued,” she said.
At approximately 2:00 a.m. local time on Friday, 32 hours after the earthquakes struck, rescuers widened the tunnel enough to pull Fabiana to safety. She emerged from the debris and collapsed into her mother’s arms.
“When I came out and saw my family and the building completely destroyed, it didn’t feel real. It felt like a television series,” she said.
According to Karina, nearly 50 people lived in their apartment building, but only three were rescued alive.
Authorities confirmed on Sunday that at least 3,342 people had died in the earthquakes, while tens of thousands remain unaccounted for.
Apart from a fractured foot and minor cuts and bruises, Fabiana escaped with relatively minor injuries. She is currently staying with her grandmother as the family begins the difficult process of rebuilding their lives.
“There is so much sadness around us,” Karina said. “I think about our neighbours and friends every day. Recovery will take time, but we will move forward. What more could a mother ask for? My daughter is alive.”
