Ketchup and Cheese: How a 12-Year-Old Survived 32 Hours Under Venezuela’s Rubble
12-year-old Fabiana Blanco ate condiments and told rescuers she was alive for days
Human resilience is a force of nature that often outstrips the physical structures around it. In the wake of the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June, a 12-year-old girl did exactly that. She survived 32 hours trapped under the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in the town of Caraballeda. Her survival story hinges not just on luck but on a desperate and clever use of pantry staples.
The disaster began on Wednesday, June 24, when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the region. This was soon followed by a 7.5-magnitude quake believed to be the largest in over a century. The tremors were so powerful that they fundamentally altered the landscape. When the shaking started, Karina Blanco was about to lead an exercise class, and her daughter Fabiana was at home. The chaos that followed was immediate and terrifying.
According to reports, Karina rushed to their first-floor apartment. She described seeing a gap where their building once stood and another building nearby. In that chaos, she ran through the complex screaming that her daughter was dead. She was certain that her daughter Fabiana had perished in the collapse. The teenager had been in the kitchen when the walls cracked and the ceiling began to press down.
"I saw things shaking, falling, breaking, and then the walls cracked," Fabiana recalled. "The wall separating my apartment from a friend's collapsed. At that moment I thought I was going to die." She was trapped under debris with the ceiling brushing against her face.
Trapped in that confined space, Fabiana tried to maintain hope. She spoke with a caretaker for a neighbor who also became trapped. The nurse was rescued after six hours and told volunteers that the 12-year-old was still alive. This update provided a sliver of hope for her mother Karina. However, the news was not enough for the initial wave of first responders who arrived at the scene.
Firefighters searched the debris and called out to Fabiana. They eventually informed her mother that "nothing could be done" and left the site. Karina was left with a sinking thought that her daughter might have suffocated or suffered a heart attack. She felt the weight of that possibility heavily. It was at this low point that her hero, a volunteer named Viktor, arrived.
Viktor did not just hear Fabiana's cries; he actively heard them amidst the dust and noise. He became her voice in the dark. When he told her mother that her daughter was alive, Karina "turned to everyone and screamed, 'my daughter is alive.'" Yet even with Viktor there, the rescue was not immediate. Other rescuers felt the rubble was too unstable to proceed.
For the next hours, Viktor remained with the girl. He continued to reassure her as she fought to stay conscious. Fabiana was enduring significant pain. One of her legs was bent in a painful position. She managed to move some of the rubble to straighten it out, which resulted in scrapes and cuts. During this struggle, she found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese. She ate these pantry items to keep her strength and consciousness levels up.
"For some reason, I had hope and faith," Fabiana told BBC News. "One of my legs was bent in a painful position, and I moved some of the rubble so I could straighten it out." Her survival strategy was simple but effective. The condiments provided the caloric energy she needed to fight for her life.
As the hours ticked by, rescuers used the headlights of cars and motorcycles to see through the darkness of the debris. With the help of people Karina begged to assist, they created a hole large enough for Fabiana to peer through. A video of this moment quickly went viral, serving as a silver lining to the broader devastation.
Finally, after 32 hours, the hole was large enough for the girl to escape. When Fabiana crawled out, she saw her family and the collapsed building. It felt surreal, like a scene from a TV series. She emerged with minor injuries, including a fracture in her left foot. She was one of only three people rescued alive out of the approximately 50 people who lived in her building.
She is now living with her grandmother. Photos show her smiling as her mother plants a kiss on her cheek. However, the psychological impact of the event lingers. She is still scared to lie down on her back because it reminds her of the rubble. The story of her survival is a testament to the human will to live.
The broader context of this rescue remains grim. As of Monday, July 6, officials reported that at least 3,535 people have died and another 16,740 have been injured. The earthquakes also left 18,000 people homeless. Yet, the specific story of Fabiana and Viktor offers a powerful example of community and persistence.
First reported by yahoo.com.
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