A Venezuelan mother died shielding her one-year-old daughter as twin earthquakes flattened buildings across the country, killing at least 1,430 people and leaving more than 50,000 missing.
Andrea Bello’s body was found protecting little Alana under the rubble of their home in La Guaira, the worst-hit coastal region north of Caracas. Her husband, Marítimo de La Guaira footballer Héctor Bello, wrote on Instagram: “How do I explain to your daughter that you lost your life to save hers, and that I wasn’t there to do anything? Give me strength now.”
“Mother dies shielding toddler in Venezuela quakes; death toll reaches 1,430 with 50,000 missing.”
The baby survived with a black eye and cuts, and is in hospital with her aunt. “I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love – how you gave your own life for our daughter,” Bello wrote.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck less than a minute apart on Wednesday, June 24 – the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, according to the US Geological Survey. More than 250 buildings collapsed within 39 seconds, trapping thousands.
Top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez, brother of acting president Delcy Rodriguez, announced the latest figures on state television: 1,430 dead, 3,238 injured, and 3,142 left homeless. He called it “the most disastrous event this republic has suffered in the last 123 years.” The US Geological Survey estimates the disaster could claim as many as 10,000 lives.
Rescue teams from the UK, the US, and neighbouring countries are racing against time as the 72-hour window for finding survivors closes. The US pledged $150m (£110m) in aid and sent two warships, aircraft and helicopters. Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post: “The US stands ready, willing, and able to help.” The Treasury Department temporarily lifted sanctions to allow earthquake relief transactions.
Among the dead are two young footballers: Razan Sijaa, an under-18s player for Caracas Fútbol Club, killed alongside family members at their home in La Guaira; and Victor Palacios, who played for Marítimo de La Guaira and left an “indelible mark” on Club Sport San Agustín’s academy, according to the Venezuelan Football Federation.
In La Guaira, now declared a “disaster zone” and militarised, emergency crews are still searching. One family told BBC Mundo they heard a relative “groan” beneath the debris. Remarkable survival stories have emerged: an 18-day-old baby rescued from rubble, and another baby born under a collapsed building, delivered by a woman lying on a plank in darkness.
Bello, who has been posting updates, wrote: “You’ll always be our favourite hero, Mummy. I’m going to make sure our baby remembers how wonderful you were, how much you loved her.”