12-year-old Fabiana Blanco survived 32 hours under the rubble of her home after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on 24 June. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Fabiana's mother, Karina Blanco, was teaching a spinning class when the earthquake hit. She rushed home but found only ruins. 'I could see one building, then a gap where my building stood, and then another building,' she said.
Fabiana was in the kitchen when the walls collapsed. 'I saw things shaking, falling, breaking, and then the walls cracked. The wall separating my apartment from a friend's collapsed. At that moment, I thought, "I'm going to die. I won't survive this. No-one is going to rescue me,"' said Fabiana.
Under the rubble, Fabiana lay face up, trapped on all sides, with the ceiling almost touching her face. Despite her claustrophobia, she felt a strange calm. A nurse who worked as a carer for her upstairs neighbours heard her and told her to stay calm. Six hours later, the nurse was rescued and told volunteers that Fabiana was alive.
When Karina heard her daughter was alive, she ran to the rubble and called out. But Fabiana could hear nothing. She managed to move some rubble and found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese, which she ate to stay conscious.
At dawn, firefighters arrived but heard no response and left. Later, a volunteer named Viktor climbed the rubble and called out. This time Fabiana heard him and replied. 'I turned to everyone and screamed, "My daughter is alive,"' said Karina.
Another group of firefighters arrived but could not reach her. Eventually, after 32 hours, Fabiana was rescued. Under the rubble, she had found her phone and recorded a video for her mother. In the video, she says: 'Apartment - Ritamar Palace. There was a tremor and lot of rubble has fallen. There is no light. There is no-one to rescue us. I am alone. Many neighbours are trapped in the rubble. We need your help.'
Karina is grateful her daughter survived but says it will take time to recover. 'We will move on,' she said.