Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo is grieving the deaths of his wife and children after a 74-hour search in the wake of the Venezuela earthquakes ended in heartbreak.
Trejo, 38, had been anxiously awaiting news of his missing family, but they were found dead on Saturday night, according to family friend and fellow soccer player Edson Tortolero.
His Venezuelan club, Maritimo de la Guaira, later confirmed the tragedy in a brief statement: ‘Club Sport Maritimo La Guaira deeply mourns the loss suffered by Lucas Trejo’s family; we ask for respect for his relatives and teammates. After a 74-hour search, they were found deceased.’
Tortolero also posted a message on social media at 7:47pm on Saturday, writing: ‘We inform all the people of Venezuela and Argentina that the bodies of Lucas Trejo’s family members have been found lifeless.
‘We thank everyone for the support and ask for the most sincere respect for his family at this time. WE PRAY FOR ETERNAL LIFE FOR THEM.’
Trejo has not made a public statement, though just hours before the discovery, he shared a family photo showing him with his wife and children on his social media account.
Argentine soccer player Lucas Trejo is grieving the loss of his wife and two children
A 74-hour search was launched after Wednesday’s double earthquake
Over 1,430 people have died from Wednesday’s rare double-earthquake in Venezeula
Reports in Argentina said his father and brother had flown to Venezuela to help him try and find his missing family.
His wife, Yana, had posted an emotional tribute message to Trejo on his birthday in April.
She said: It’s a blessing for us as a family to have you and to move forward together in our shared purpose! With you, everything is always easier and more beautiful.’
Rescue efforts to find survivors from Wednesday’s devastating rare 7.2 and 7.5 double-earthquake have been intensifying with nearly 70,000 people reported missing.
Top lawmaker Jorge Rodríguez has called it ‘the most disastrous event’ the country has suffered in the last 123 years. Officials say the death toll is now at 1,430, while 3,238 people were injured.
Whole swathes of towns and cities across the country were reduced to rubble. An estimated 3,100 families are said to be in shelters.
Earlier on Saturday, Venezuelan former Major League Baseball player Gorkys Hernandez said his wife Deisy had died in the earthquake.
Reports in Venezuela have said that Deisy was in a luxury hotel with family members of other players on Hernandez’s La Guaira Delfines baseball team when the earthquakes struck.
‘Queen of my life, you are and always will be the most beautiful, lovely, precious, the best woman in the world, the one who always found a way to lift me up in bad times,’ Hernandez wrote on Saturday.
A view of damaged buildings at Catia La Mar after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela
Footage shared by interim president Delcy Rodríguez showed a huge team of emergency workers coming down from a pile of rubble
‘You were and are the most beautiful woman in my life. You will always be with me, at every hour and in every moment. Fly high, my princess, my queen. May God have you in his glory and guide me to keep going and lift up our family.’
Amid the chaos and staggering death toll in Venezuela, some stories of hope emerged.
Two 11-year-old boys were separately pulled alive from the rubble of decimated buildings hours apart.
A newborn baby was pulled out alive from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building after being trapped for 32 hours in the aftermath of the quakes.
Footage shows the moment rescuers in the city of La Guaira – which has been declared a disaster zone – moved the baby away from the debris and handed it over to a man, who appeared to be the father.
The infant’s mother was also pulled alive from the rubble, according to AFP.
Despite this, the government’s reaction to the crisis has been met with fury. During a visit Rodriguez made to a Caracas neighbourhood that was all but razed to the ground, residents voiced their anger.
Many screamed at her: ‘The government isn’t doing anything for the people.’
Picture of a building destroyed during twin earthquakes in Caraballeda
People go through donated clothes at a temporary refugee camp after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 26
Search and rescue operations continue at the sites of collapsed buildings in Macuto, La Guaira
Others said: ‘Get out! Get out!’
International rescue teams have flocked to Venezuela to boost a desperate and slow-moving search for survivors.
The coastal area of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was the worst hit, with one building after another crumpled by the earthquakes.
Authorities announced on Friday night that they would block access to La Guaira, the epicentre of the destruction, as chaos and traffic were hampering search efforts.
Officials said anyone who wants to enter would now have to seek official permits, but provided few details of who would be allowed in.
More than 14,000 members of the military and police are patrolling the area, Rodríguez said on state television Saturday.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilised to help find survivors.
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