12-year-old in Venezuela recounts how she survived 32 hours under rubble after earthquake: I thought I would not make it out alive

After 32 hours of nonstop searching, rescue teams managed to pull Fabiana Blanco out of the rubble alive. Her case has become a symbol of hope and resilience after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit Venezuela in a century.

The 12-year-old girl was trapped beneath the ruins of the apartment building where she lived after the country was struck on June 24 by a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake.

Fabiana was found by search-and-rescue teams after spending more than a day under concrete. During that time, she managed to survive on nothing but ketchup and cheese she had nearby.

The 10-story building where her family lived in Caraballeda, in La Guaira state, was destroyed by the tremors. When the earthquake began, Fabiana was alone in the apartment. She ran to the kitchen to hold onto the counter, but the walls collapsed and left her buried under the debris.

“I saw everything shaking, falling and collapsing. I thought I was going to die and that no one would be able to save me,” the 12-year-old said, recalling the first moments after the building collapsed.

At that moment, her mother, Karina Blanco, was getting ready to teach a spinning class when she felt the tremors. As soon as she realized how strong the earthquake was, she immediately headed home. When she got there, the building had almost completely disappeared.

“I saw one building, then an empty space where our apartment building was, and then another building. I started screaming that my daughter had died,” she recounted.

While under the rubble, Fabiana was able to communicate with a nurse who was also trapped. She encouraged the girl to stay calm and, after she was rescued about six hours later, told emergency crews that the 12-year-old was still alive.

This information restored hope to Karina, who had begun to accept the loss of her daughter. “I was praying to God to give me strength to live without Fabiana when someone told me she was alive,” Karina said.