An Argentine footballer playing for a Venezuelan team has lost his wife and two young children in the powerful twin earthquakes that struck the South American country last week. Club Sport Marítimo de La Guaira confirmed the deaths of Yanina de Trejo, and their children Aarón and Ainhoa, after their player Lucas Trejo had been desperately searching for them.
Player's Desperate Search
Before their deaths were confirmed, Trejo described to Noticias Telemundo how he was “going through the rubble with my hands” searching for his family. The family's home in La Guaira, the hardest hit area, collapsed in the quake. “I was playing at a game far from my home, I ran back to see if my family was good,” he said, getting emotional. “The building was destroyed.”
Trejo told Noticias Telemundo that he was digging with his hands through the rubble because there was no digging equipment, and even after one machine arrived, it was too small to lift the big pieces of debris. He also described his desperate attempts to find his young son, Aaron, in hospitals after rumors circulated that a young child had come out alive from the building. “I don’t know where my family is, I’m looking for them but I don’t know,” he said, breaking up.
Club Mourns Tragic Loss
Noticias Telemundo confirmed the deaths with Trejo’s team, which mourned the tragic loss. “For the eternal rest of Yanina de Trejo (wife), Aarón Trejo (son) and Ainhoa Trejo (daughter) of our player Lucas Trejo. The great family of Club Sport Marítimo de La Guaira offers their words of condolence for the death of his family members,” the team wrote on Instagram.
Earthquake Details and Aftermath
Trejo had been searching for his family since Wednesday, when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the town of San Felipe shortly after 6 p.m., followed by a more powerful 7.5 quake 39 seconds later near Yumare. More than 1,400 people were killed and some 3,150 were injured in the earthquakes. Tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for amid a desperate search for survivors.
Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said on Sunday that time was running out to rescue people still trapped under debris. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said in a televised address on Sunday that search and rescue operations would continue after 33 people were found over the weekend. “We recovered people alive today,” she said. “Therefore, the rescue operations will not be suspended.”
