Argentine footballer, Lucas Trejo, has suffered a devastating personal loss after his wife and two children were confirmed among the victims of last week’s deadly earthquakes in Venezuela, the strongest recorded in the country in over a century.
Trejo, who plays for Venezuelan second-division side Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira, spent several days desperately searching through the ruins of his family home in La Guaira, hoping to find his wife, Yanina, and their children, Aarón and Ainhoa.
Speaking to CNN Español on Friday, Trejo’s brother-in-law, Ricardo Ardiles, said the player was “emotionally overwhelmed” by the tragedy and revealed that “absolutely nothing” remained of the family’s beachfront residence, located in one of the areas hardest hit by the disaster.
Venezuelan authorities said on Sunday that more than 1,400 people had died in the earthquakes, while thousands remain unaccounted for.
Trejo, 38, was attending a training camp with his club in Caracas when the twin earthquakes struck.
According to CNN Español, he immediately travelled back to La Guaira, situated about 18 miles north of the capital, to search for his family.
Describing the destruction, Ardiles said, “What he found was a horrific scene.” He added, “He found absolutely nothing of what the building itself had been. Our hope is that they weren’t in there.”
The footballer spent days searching through debris and appealing for additional rescue equipment. Friends and fellow players also joined efforts to secure more machinery for the operation.
“Right now we only have one machine, but it’s not enough,” said Robert Garcés of Metropolitanos F.C. in a video appeal.
The search ended in heartbreak on Sunday when Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira confirmed the deaths of Trejo’s family members.
In a statement posted on social media alongside a family photograph, the club said it “deeply mourns the irreparable loss” suffered by the player.
“Lucas, you are not alone. Your family at Maritime La Guaira is with you,” the club added.
The earthquakes, described by the US Geological Survey as a rare “doublet” due to two powerful tremors occurring just 39 seconds apart, have also claimed the lives of several members of Venezuela’s football community.
Among the victims was 18-year-old Yimvert Berroteran, a promising prospect who had represented Venezuela at the U-17 World Cup in Doha earlier this year and recently featured for the national U-20 side. His death was confirmed by both the Venezuelan national team and the Venezuelan Football Federation.
Young footballers Víctor Palacios and Razan Sijaa also lost their lives in the disaster, according to the federation and their clubs.
Elsewhere, the partner of footballer Héctor Bello died while shielding their young daughter during the earthquake.
In a tribute shared on social media, Bello wrote, “I’ll make sure to remind our baby girl how wonderful you were and how much you loved her.”
The catastrophe has affected people beyond Venezuela’s borders. Chinese state media reported that eight Chinese nationals were among those killed, while Spain’s foreign ministry said at least nine Spanish citizens had died and more than 100 others remain missing.
Rescue operations have now moved beyond the first 72 hours after the disaster, a period widely regarded as the most crucial for locating survivors.
Experts note that survival chances decline significantly after that window, particularly without access to water, although studies have shown that some rescues can still occur within the first five or six days following a major disaster.
