30‑Hour Rubble‑Rescue: Venezuelan Girl Survives With Ketchup and Cheese
The after‑shock of a 7.5‑magnitude quake on 24 June in Caraballeda, northern La Guaira, left a 10‑storey building collapsed, trapping residents inside. Among them, 12‑year‑old Fabiana Blanco was trapped for 32 hours before a volunteer’s persistence pulled her out of the rubble.
The quake struck La Guaira state in the early evening, sending buildings toppling in rapid succession. Fabiana was in the upstairs bedroom of the damaged high‑rise when the walls began to crumble. Within moments, she was pinned beneath debris, her chest pressed against the flattened roof. The magnitude of the quake left no survivors in the building except for the family of Karina Blanco and a handful of other homeowners–just three people survived amid nearly fifty residents in the complex.
After the shaking subsided, Karina and neighbors searched frantic for any sign of help. “There was half my daughter's bed sticking out of the rubble,” she recorded, still shouting into the emptyness. As firefighters arrived, they quickly gave up, calling the situation impossible for rescue in the narrow debris. Viktor, a volunteer from the local community, continued to claw at the rubble, eventually hearing a faint voice—Fabiana—call back.
The trapped child’s courage froze her physical life. “I was scared to lie down, but a strange calm took over,” Fabiana recounted. In the dark, she managed to move rubble to straighten one bent leg and grabbed a bottle of ketchup and a bag of grated cheese. These items, she said, “kept me conscious.” The wistful video she recorded without signal left in the rubble message she might have an opportunity to tell her mother’s name: “Apartment – Ritamar Palace. I am alone. Many neighbours are trapped.”
At around 2:00 a.m. on 25 June, 32 hours after the earthquake, rescuers opened a hole large enough to pull Fabiana out. She walked out with a fractured left foot and only a few scrapes, reunited with her mother in tears and realising the world outside was a reality—“It felt like a TV series.” The moments she emerged were captured in a video that quickly went viral around Venezuela, sharing how a child’s survival depended on improbable sustenance and a volunteer’s unwavering effort.
Karina, reflecting on the ordeal, said “It will take us a while to recover, but we will move on. What more can a mother want? My daughter is alive.” Meanwhile, government data reported 3,342 confirmed deaths and tens of thousands missing in the latest figures from the earthquakes, underscoring the costly impact of the chain of shocks that rattled the region.
For more live updates, community discussion, and interactive maps of the ongoing rescue operations in Caraballeda and surrounding areas, stay tuned to PulseWire’s coverage. This story exemplifies the resilience of individuals and the crucial role of volunteer-driven rescues in disaster scenarios. The condition and safety of other survivors across the region remains a top priority for local authorities and international aid agencies as they coordinate swift support and humanitarian relief across the impacted areas.
