More than 1,400 people have been confirmed dead after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, and experts are warning the final death toll could reach 10,000. Among those killed are the wife and two young children of Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo.
Lucas Trejo, who plays for Venezuelan club Maritimo La Guaira, was in Caracas preparing for a match when the earthquakes hit.
His family was at home in the coastal area of Playa Grande, one of the worst-affected areas, when their apartment building collapsed.
Urgent plea from Trejo asking for information
Not knowing if his family had survived, Trejo posted an urgent plea on Instagram asking anyone with information to come forward.
“Our building in Playa Grande collapsed. I don’t know anything about my family,” he wrote.
“Please pray for them and share this message in case someone saw them. I want to believe they weren’t there. Please pray for my family.”
After a 74-hour search, his wife Yanina Maranella and their children Aaron and Ainhoa were finally found dead in the rubble.
His club confirmed the news in a statement, asking for respect for Trejo and his teammates during what they described as a profound loss.
The scale of the disaster
The first earthquake struck Yaracuy, west of Caracas, at a magnitude of 7.2. It was followed by a second quake measuring 7.5, according to the US Geological Survey. More than 3,200 people have been treated for injuries, and thousands more remain missing.
Photos of missing people have been put up around hospitals as families continue searching for loved ones.
An international rescue effort is now underway, with 21 delegations from around the world sending 2,242 rescue workers and 96 canine units to search the rubble for survivors.
The USGS warned that the death toll is expected to rise significantly in the coming days, with estimates putting the final figure at around 10,000, though officials stressed that number could be lower or higher.
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