Venezuela Earthquakes Claim Over 1,700 Lives, Including Family Members of Footballers

Family members of two professional footballers are among those killed by the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela in a catastrophe that has claimed at least 1,719 lives. Among the reported victims are the wife and two children of Lucas Trejo, an Argentinian footballer signed to Club Sport Marítimo of La Guaira. He searched through rubble in the coastal city for his wife, Yanina, and their children, Aaron and Ainhoa, for three days before their bodies were recovered by rescue workers. Trejo was training with his team in Caracas when the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck last Wednesday, CNN reports. He immediately returned to La Guaira, which is in the region worst affected by the earthquake, but “absolutely nothing” was left of his home, according to his brother-in-law, Ricardo Ardiles. Another local player, Héctor Bello, lost his wife, Andrea, who died shielding their infant daughter when their home collapsed. The child, Alana, was later found by rescuers, local media reported. She is in a stable condition alongside her aunt, according to Bello, who was away from home when the earthquake struck. “You gave your own life for our daughter … you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths,” he wrote in an Instagram post. According to Venezuelan football officials, the disaster also claimed the lives of youth players Victor Palacios and Razan Sijaa. Palacios played for Club Sport San Augustín’s academy. Sijaa was playing for Caracas Fútbol Club and died with his family at their La Guaira home. The 72-hour window where the probability of finding survivors is highest passed on Saturday, according to Sebastian Eugster, leader of the Swiss rescue team. The US Geological Survey predicts deaths could reach 10,000. The earthquake was the most powerful in Venezuela since 1900. AFP contributed to this report