In brief
In Caraballeda, two powerful earthquakes crushed a high‑rise, trapping 12‑year‑old Fabiana Blanco beneath debris. She endured 32 hours alone, finding a bottle of ketchup and grated cheese as the only food taking her through the night. Her mother, Karina, screamed for help until a volunteer named Viktor rallied firefighters and volunteers, creating a tunnel that allowed Fabiana’s rescue. The gentle relief of a weary girl’s smile and her mother’s hug became a viral moment of hope amid the calamity. While 3,342 lives were lost and thousands missing, this story of resilience underscores the human spirit in Venezuela’s disaster response.
On 24 June, two tremors of magnitude 7.5 hit the northern coast of Venezuela, collapsing a 10‑story building in Caraballeda. La‑Guaira resident Karina Blanco was teaching a spinning class when the earthquake began. She hurried with her bag to the street and saw only rubble where her home once stood.
Parental Panic: Karina’s twelve‑year‑old daughter, Fabiana, was inside the first‑floor flat. The walls crumbled and she was thrown to the floor, surrounded by concrete. “I thought I would die,” Fabiana recalled, describing a deep breath before the panic.
Fabiana survived 32 grueling hours beneath the wreckage, trapped with only a bottle of ketchup and a quantity of grated cheese. She managed to move some rubble to straighten her knee, endured cuts, and used the food to stay conscious. Her phone was found, and she recorded a plea for help that went untold for hours.
Rescue Efforts: Multiple rescuers arrived, but the debris was too tight. A volunteer named Viktor repeated calls that finally reached Fabiana. Karina screamed for help until emergency teams scoured the site overnight, creating a narrow tunnel that allowed Fabiana to be lifted. Around 2:00 a.m., the rescue team pulled her out to her mother’s tears and sobbing joy.
The rescue was captured in a video that quickly went viral across Venezuelan social media, symbolising hope amid devastation. The story is a striking reminder of humanity’s resilience when life is threatened by disaster.
The 19‑story building now lies in ruins; 3,342 people have died, tens of thousands remain missing. Of the approximately 50 residents of the block, only three escaped alive. Following the quake, Fabiana lives with her grandmother, mourning neighbors and friends, while Karina remains hopeful for eventual recovery despite the community’s grievous losses.
