‘I Ate Ketchup and Cheese’: 12-Year-Old Girl Rescued After 32 Hours Trapped in Venezuela Quake Rubble

Caraballeda, La Guaira — Karina Blanco was about to begin the spinning class she teaches when the ground began to shake. The tremors intensified, and she ran outside with others. Her 12-year-old daughter, Fabiana, was at home when two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela within seconds on 24 June — the second registering magnitude 7.5, one of the strongest in a century for the country.

When Karina reached her 10-storey apartment block, she could barely believe her eyes. "I could see one building, then a gap where my building stood, and then another building," she said. Outside the collapsed building, half of Fabiana's bed protruded from the debris.

Fabiana had been in her mother's bedroom on the first floor when the tremors began. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed the counter as walls gave way. The collapse threw her to the floor and left her trapped, face up, with the ceiling nearly pressing on her.

The building before and after the earthquake [Family handout]

Alone Under the Rubble

For the next 32 hours, Fabiana was pinned beneath concrete and broken walls. "I'm someone who gets very anxious and claustrophobic. But I don't know why, a strange calm came over me," she recalled. She managed to find a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese in the wreckage and says those kept her conscious. She also found her phone and recorded a short video plea describing her location and calling for help.

"Apartment - Ritamar Palace. There was a tremor and a lot of rubble has fallen. There is no light. There is no-one to rescue us. I am alone. Many neighbours are trapped in the rubble. We need your help,"

Rescue Effort

About six hours after the quake, a nurse who had been trapped above called out; Fabiana answered. The nurse was later rescued and told volunteers that a girl named Fabiana was still inside. A volunteer named Viktor climbed onto the debris and maintained contact with Fabiana, reassuring her while rescue efforts continued.

Firefighters and volunteers worked through the night. Some teams initially concluded it was impossible to reach her and left, but community members kept digging and shining headlights from motorcycles and cars to give rescuers light. Slowly they chiselled a tunnel through the rubble. Around 02:00 local time, roughly 32 hours after the earthquakes, rescuers created an opening large enough to pull Fabiana out. She walked from the debris with help and collapsed into her mother's arms.

This aerial photo shows the sheer scale of devastation in the coastal town of Caraballeda [Reuters]

Aftermath and Impact

Fabiana suffered a fractured left foot and several scrapes and bruises but no other major injuries; she is now staying with her grandmother. Karina says of the nearly 50 residents in their block, only three people were rescued alive. Officials confirmed 3,342 deaths nationwide with tens of thousands reported missing as rescue and recovery operations continue.

Fabiana described the surreal relief of seeing her family: "When I came out, I saw my family, I saw the building completely collapsed, and it felt like it wasn't real, like it was a TV series." Karina reflected on grief and gratitude: "What more can a mother want? My daughter is alive."

Additional reporting: Aakriti Thapar, Yesman Utrera, Maria Ines Calderon, Sanjay Ganguly.