Venezuela Girl Survives 32 Hours Under Earthquake Rubble
On 24 June, Caracas‑area residents were shaken by two massive earthquakes—one measuring 7.5 and another 7.4—causing widespread collapse of buildings. Among those lost were 12‑year‑old Fabiana Blanco, who lay trapped beneath the debris of her 10‑storey apartment for over three days.
Fabiana’s mother, Karina, a spinning‑class teacher, ran in panic as the tremors intensified, shouting for her daughter. When Karina reached the rubble‑filled building, she saw only a fragment of Fabiana’s bed protruding from the wreckage. “I was running from one end to the other screaming ‘She’s dead … my daughter is dead,’” she recalled.
Fabiana was stuck face‑up with the ceiling almost touching her. Despite severe claustrophobia, she experienced a sudden calm, a shock‑induced silence that helped her conserve energy. She maintained communication with a nearby nurse, who responded, “Stay calm, everything will be fine.”
Rescue crews found her 6 hours after the quake. A volunteer named Viktor, who had been in the building previously, persisted in shouting, “Your daughter is alive!” This message reached Fabiana, bolstering her faith.
After hours of chiselling away rubble with limited lighting, rescuers finally opened a tunnel enough to pull Fabiana out at 02:00 the following morning. She emerged with only a fractured left foot, scrapes and bruises, and vowed to live with her grandmother while the community mourns.
Out of nearly 50 residents, only three survived. By Monday, 3,342 people had died and tens of thousands were missing. Caraballeda’s streets still carry the scars of collapsed buildings, and Karina emphasizes the long road to recovery, saying, “What more can a mother want? My daughter is alive.”
