A Venezuelan mother died saving her toddler during the twin earthquakes that have killed at least 920 people, as rescuers continued to search through rubble for survivors on Friday.
Héctor Bello, a local footballer, wrote on Instagram that his wife – named by Venezuelan news outlets as Andrea – sacrificed herself for their daughter. “How do I explain to your daughter that you lost your life to save hers, and that I wasn’t there to do anything?” Bello wrote in a separate post. “How do I explain it? Give me strength now.”
“Mother died saving daughter as Venezuela earthquake death toll reaches 920; two footballers among victims.”
Their daughter survived the collapse of the building where the family lived, according to Cumaná de Campeones, a local football publicity organisation. Bello later said his daughter and her aunt were in hospital and “doing well”.
The death toll has risen sharply since Wednesday, when two powerful earthquakes struck near the capital Caracas within seconds of each other. Jorge Rodriguez, the head of Venezuela’s national assembly, said in a state TV broadcast on Friday that 920 people had been killed, with at least 172 still believed to be trapped. More than 3,360 others were injured. Earlier, acting President Delcy Rodríguez had put the death toll at 589.
The first quake, magnitude 7.2, hit the state of Yaracuy at a depth of 22km. Less than a minute later, a magnitude 7.5 tremor – one of the strongest in a century – struck nearby at a depth of about 10km, according to the US Geological Survey. Both shook the capital, where buildings collapsed and panicked residents ran into the streets.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said multiple states were affected, with the worst-hit areas in the capital being the neighbourhoods of Los Palos Grandes and Altamira – also badly damaged in the 1967 quake that killed 200. The hardest-hit region overall was La Guaira, north of the capital, said interim President Rodríguez.
The government declared a state of emergency and halted airport, rail and transport services. Aftershocks have reached 214, largely affecting the northern coastline including La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo and Falcón. Tremors were felt as far away as Bogotá, Colombia.
Among the dead were two young footballers. Caracas Fútbol Club said its under-18s player Razan Sijaa had been killed alongside family members at their home in La Guaira. “His joy, dedication, and camaraderie will accompany us in every step of the institution,” it said. Victor Palacios, who played for Marítimo de La Guaira and Club Sport San Agustín’s academy, also died. “There are not enough words to express the pain we feel at his passing,” the club wrote on Instagram.
Former Miss Venezuela Giselle Reyes said on Instagram that her mother had died after the quakes caused her building in La Guaira to collapse.
As the scale of the disaster became clearer, Bello’s anguish echoed across social media. “I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love,” he wrote to his wife. “How you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths.”