On June 24, 2026, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.5 struck northern Venezuela, trapping 12-year-old Fabiana Blanco under the rubble of her family's apartment for 32 hours. Her mother, Karina Blanco, rushed to find her after the tremors destroyed their building in Caraballeda, La Guaira state.
The Earthquake's Devastating Impact
The earthquake hit just as Karina was about to start teaching a spinning class. She described the moment: "When I realised the magnitude of it, I started screaming 'my daughter, my daughter.'" As she reached her building, she saw it reduced to debris, with only half of Fabiana's bed visible.
Inside the apartment, Fabiana was initially in her mother's bedroom when the quake struck. She ran to the kitchen, but the walls collapsed around her, leaving her trapped. "I thought, 'I’m going to die. I won’t survive this,'" she recalled.
A Fight for Survival
Under the rubble, Fabiana experienced a strange calm despite being trapped. "I’m someone who gets very anxious and claustrophobic. But I don’t know why, a strange calm came over me," she said. During her ordeal, she found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese, which helped her stay conscious.
Meanwhile, Karina was frantic, believing her daughter might be dead. "I was running from one end of the complex to the other screaming 'She’s dead. My daughter is dead.'" After several hours, a nurse who had been trapped above Fabiana was rescued and informed the volunteers that Fabiana was alive.
The Rescue Operation
As rescuers worked tirelessly, Karina's hope fluctuated. She remembered moments when firefighters told her they could do nothing. However, a volunteer named Viktor kept returning to reassure Fabiana, ultimately leading to her rescue.
After hours of searching, a team of firefighters managed to create a hole large enough to see Fabiana's face peering through the debris. "After so many hours of being shut in, I was filled with joy when I saw them. I realised I was going to be rescued," she said.
Finally, at around 2:00 AM on June 25, rescuers pulled Fabiana from the rubble. She collapsed into her mother’s arms, relieved and overwhelmed. "When I came out, I saw my family, I saw the building completely collapsed, and it felt like it wasn’t real, like it was a TV series," Fabiana added.
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by BBC News. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
