Buried beneath the ruins of her collapsed apartment for 32 hours, 12-year-old Fabiana Blanco survived on ketchup and grated cheese, clung to hope through the darkness, and was finally pulled out alive as her mother’s desperate search ended in an emotional reunion.
A 12-year-old Venezuelan girl who spent 32 hours trapped beneath the rubble of her collapsed apartment after the country’s devastating earthquakes has shared how ketchup and grated cheese kept her alive until rescuers reached her.
Fabiana Blanco was alone at home in Caraballeda, in Venezuela’s La Guaira state, when two powerful earthquakes struck on 24 June. The second measured 7.5 in magnitude, making it one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in more than a century.
Her mother, Karina Blanco, had been preparing to teach a spinning class when the ground began shaking.
“When I realised the magnitude of it, I started screaming, ‘My daughter, my daughter.’ I sat in my car and drove as fast as I could,” Karina said.
When she arrived, the apartment building where they lived had completely collapsed.
“I could see one building, then a gap where my building stood, and then another building,” she recalled.
Inside the first-floor apartment, Fabiana had rushed from her mother’s bedroom into the kitchen as the building shook violently. Moments later, the walls gave way around her.
“I saw things shaking, falling, breaking, and then the walls cracked,” Fabiana said.
“At that moment, I thought, ‘I’m going to die. I won’t survive this. No-one is going to rescue me.'”
She became trapped beneath layers of concrete with debris surrounding her and the ceiling only inches from her face.
Despite describing herself as someone who suffers from anxiety and claustrophobia, Fabiana said an unexpected sense of calm helped her endure the ordeal.
A nurse trapped elsewhere in the building later called out to survivors and heard Fabiana respond. About six hours after the quake, the nurse was rescued and informed emergency workers that a young girl was still alive inside the rubble.
SEE ALSO: Man rescued alive after spending eight days trapped beneath earthquake rubble in Venezuela
Karina, who had already begun preparing herself for the worst, said the news changed everything.
“I had surrendered to God, asking for strength to begin a new life without Fabiana. And then someone told me, ‘Your daughter is alive.'”
Inside the collapsed building, Fabiana searched through the debris and found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese.
“For some reason, I had hope and faith,” she said.
“I found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese. That’s what kept me conscious.”
She also found her mobile phone. Although there was no network signal, she recorded a video hoping someone would eventually see it.
“There was a tremor and a 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,” she said in the recording.
Early rescue attempts were unsuccessful, and firefighters initially told Karina they could not reach her daughter.
Hope returned when a volunteer named Viktor climbed onto the wreckage and called out.
This time, Fabiana heard him.
“I turned to everyone and screamed, ‘My daughter is alive,'” Karina said.
As more volunteers gathered, emergency crews worked through the night, using vehicle headlights and motorcycle lamps to light the rescue operation.
Hours later, rescuers finally broke through the concrete.
A video showing Fabiana smiling through a small opening before being pulled to safety has since gone viral across Venezuela.
“After so many hours of being shut in, I was filled with joy when I saw them. I realised I was going to be rescued,” Fabiana said.
At about 2:00 a.m. local time, rescuers widened the opening enough to pull her out.
She emerged from the rubble with minor assistance before collapsing into her mother’s arms.
“When I came out, I saw my family, I saw the building completely collapsed, and it felt like it wasn’t real, like it was a TV series,” she said.
Fabiana escaped with a fractured left foot, bruises and cuts. She is now recovering at her grandmother’s home.
She admitted that sleeping has been difficult since the disaster.
“Initially I was scared to lie down, especially on my back, as I would remember the time I spent in the rubble,” she said.
Karina said only three people from their apartment building survived.
According to the latest official figures, at least 3,342 people have been confirmed dead in the earthquakes, while tens of thousands remain missing.
Looking back on the rescue, Karina said the pain of losing neighbours and friends remains overwhelming.
“There is a great sadness outside this house. It will take us a while to recover. But we will move on,” she said.
“What more can a mother want? My daughter is alive.”
