A tragic story has emerged from Venezuela’s deadly twin earthquakes, where a football player’s wife reportedly lost her life while saving their young daughter from collapsing rubble.
According to local media and football player Héctor Bello, a Venezuelan mother died while rescuing her daughter during the country’s earthquakes.
Bello posted on Instagram that amid two strong earthquakes, “his precious love,” identified by Venezuelan media as his wife Andrea, saved their toddler’s life.
“I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love – how you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths,” Bello wrote in his article.
At least 589 people were killed and 2,980 injured in twin earthquakes near the capital Caracas, and rescuers are still searching through the debris for survivors.
“My daughter and her aunt are doing well, they won’t be discharged today they’re staying at the hospital,” Bello said in a series of posts about his trip to Caracas, where his daughter was hospitalized.
He wrote, “Thank you so much for helping me through this terrible pain,” on Friday night.
“How do I explain to your daughter that you lost your life to save hers, and that I wasn’t there to do anything? How do I explain it?” Bello said on a different Instagram story. Now give me strength.”
Her passing was also covered by Cumaná de Campeones, a local Venezuelan football press and publicity group.
“We regret to report that the partner of footballer Héctor Bello” Kike “- originally from Cumana – was found dead in the rubble following the earthquake that struck the country.”
“Their daughter, however, survived the collapse of the building where the entire family resided.”
Univision, a Spanish-language news organization in the US, also reported on Bello’s wife’s passing.
Following the disaster on Wednesday, more earthquake-related deaths have been confirmed, victims have been recognized, and many more are still unaccounted for.
According to Spanish media, which cited the country’s foreign ministry, four Spanish citizens were also among the dead, while 106 are still missing.
The governments of two Brazilian and one Portuguese national confirmed the deaths.
António José Seguro, the president of Portugal, sent a “message of solidarity” to the Venezuelan people and to Portuguese nationals residing in Venezuela.