Argentinian soccer player Lucas Trejo is grieving the loss of his wife and children after they were discovered dead following an extensive 74-hour search. The family was reported missing in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.
The 38-year-old athlete had been holding out hope for a positive outcome. However, on Saturday night, the tragic news of their deaths was confirmed by Edson Tortolero, a family friend and fellow soccer player.
The Venezuelan soccer club Maritimo de la Guaira, where Trejo plays, released a brief statement confirming the devastating loss. “Club Sport Maritimo La Guaira deeply mourns the loss suffered by Lucas Trejo’s family; we kindly request respect for his family and teammates. Following a 74-hour search, they were found deceased,” the statement read.
The club expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support and urged the public to respect the family’s privacy, adding, “We pray for eternal rest for them.”
Although Trejo has not yet made any public statements, before the tragic discovery, he shared a cherished family photo with his wife and children on his social media account.
Argentine soccer player Lucas Trejo is mourning the death of his wife and two children
A 74-hour search had been underway to find them 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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