Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo has been left devastated after his wife and two young children were confirmed dead following the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela last week.
Trejo, who plays for Venezuelan second-division club Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira, spent three days desperately searching the ruins of his family’s beachfront home in La Guaira in the hope of finding his wife, Yanina, and their children, Aarón and Ainhoa, alive.
The 38-year-old was attending a training camp with his club in Caracas when the twin earthquakes occurred. He immediately travelled back to La Guaira, located about 18 miles north of the capital, only to discover that the apartment building where his family lived had collapsed.
Speaking to CNN Español, Trejo’s brother-in-law, Ricardo Ardiles, described the footballer’s emotional state after witnessing the destruction.
“He was emotionally overwhelmed,” Ardiles said. “What he found was a horrific scene. There was nothing left of the building. We only hoped they were not inside.”
Throughout the rescue operation, Trejo joined emergency workers and volunteers in searching through the debris while publicly appealing for additional heavy machinery to speed up the recovery effort. Friends and fellow footballers also released a video urging authorities to provide more equipment.
“Right now we only have one machine, but it’s not enough,” said Metropolitanos F.C. player Robert Garcés.
The search ended in tragedy on Sunday, June 28, when Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira officially confirmed the deaths of Trejo’s wife and two children.
In a heartfelt statement shared 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 wrote.
The devastating earthquakes, which the United States Geological Survey described as a rare “doublet” because two major tremors struck just 39 seconds apart, are the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century.
Authorities have reported that more than 1,400 people lost their lives in the disaster, while thousands of others remain missing.
The tragedy also claimed the life of promising Venezuelan footballer Yimvert Berroteran. The Venezuelan national team and the country’s football federation confirmed the 18-year-old’s death on Friday.
Berroteran had represented Venezuela at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Doha earlier this year and had recently featured for the nation’s Under-20 team.
