Argentine Soccer Player’s Family Lost in Venezuela Earthquakes
Argentine soccer player loses wife 2 children – Last week’s earthquakes, the most powerful to strike Venezuela in over a century, devastated the region and claimed the lives of Lucas Trejo’s wife and two children. Trejo, a 38-year-old player for Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira, was in Caracas for a training session when the tremors hit, CNN Español reported. He raced to his home in La Guaira, 18 miles north of the capital, where the family had been staying.
Search Efforts Amid Devastation
Over the past three days, Trejo has tirelessly sifted through rubble, hoping to find traces of his loved ones. His brother-in-law, Ricardo Ardiles, described the soccer player as “emotionally overwhelmed” and shared that the family’s beachfront home was reduced to nothing. “What he found was a horrific scene,” Ardiles said. “Absolutely nothing of what the building itself had been. Our hope is that they weren’t in there.”
“Lucas, you are not alone. Your family at Maritime La Guaira is with you,” said the club in a social media post, sharing a photo of Trejo with his wife and daughter.
Authorities confirmed more than 1,400 fatalities and thousands missing in the country. The disaster, classified as a rare “doublet” by the US Geological Survey, featured two major quakes occurring just 39 seconds apart. The search, now in its third day, has entered the critical phase where survival chances drop sharply without water access.
Broader Impact on Soccer Community
The earthquakes also affected several athletes. Yimvert Berroteran, a 18-year-old national team player, died in the rubble. He had recently competed in the U-20 World Cup. Other young players, including Víctor Palacios and Razan Sijaa, were among the casualties.
Héctor Bello, a teammate, shared that his partner died while shielding their toddler. “I’ll make sure to remind our baby girl how wonderful you were and how much you loved her,” he wrote on social media.
International victims included eight Chinese nationals, as reported by Chinese state media, and at least nine Spanish nationals, according to Spain’s foreign ministry. Over 100 Spanish residents remain unaccounted for.
Call for Additional Resources
Trejo’s search efforts were supported by friends and teammates, who filmed a plea for more heavy machinery. Robert Garcés, a player for Venezuela’s Metropolitanos F.C., noted, “Right now we only have one machine, but it’s not enough.”
CNN’s Max Saltman, Max Feliu, and Joyce Jiang contributed to this report.
