A mother and her 12-year-old daughter have been reunited after surviving 32 hours trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building following powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela, EDnews reports, citing the BBC.
Karina Blanco was teaching a spinning class when the tremors began on 24 June. She said she ran outside as the shaking intensified and immediately feared for her daughter Fabiana, who was at their home in Caraballeda, La Guaira state.
The earthquakes, including a second powerful tremor measuring 7.5 magnitude, caused widespread destruction across northern Venezuela. When Blanco reached her residential complex, she found her building reduced to rubble.
Inside the collapsed 10-storey structure, Fabiana was trapped in her first-floor apartment when the walls and ceilings suddenly gave way. She survived the initial collapse but remained buried under debris for more than a day.
“I thought, ‘I’m going to die. No one is going to rescue me,’” Fabiana told the BBC, recalling the moments after the quake struck.
Outside, her mother believed she had lost her daughter. “I was screaming, ‘She’s dead, my daughter is dead,’” Blanco said.
Rescue efforts began hours later, but initial attempts failed as firefighters struggled to reach the trapped girl. At one point, a volunteer named Viktor was able to make contact with Fabiana and confirmed she was still alive, reigniting hope for the rescue team and family.
Fabiana later recorded a video message from beneath the rubble, saying she was trapped, injured and alone, and pleading for help.
After repeated rescue attempts and growing crowds of volunteers, rescuers eventually managed to carve a tunnel through the debris. At around 02:00 local time, 32 hours after the disaster, Fabiana was pulled out alive and reunited with her mother.
“When I came out, I saw my family… it felt unreal, like a TV series,” Fabiana said.
Authorities say the earthquake has left widespread devastation across the region, with thousands of deaths reported and many people still missing.
According to official figures, at least 3,342 people have been confirmed dead, while tens of thousands remain unaccounted for. Of nearly 50 residents in the collapsed building, only three were rescued alive.
Fabiana, who suffered a fractured foot and minor injuries, is now recovering at her grandmother’s home. Her mother said the emotional toll remains heavy but expressed relief that her daughter survived.
“It will take us a while to recover,” Blanco said. “But we will move on. My daughter is alive.”
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