12-year-old girl survives 32 hours under Venezuela earthquake rubble on ketchup and cheese

A 12-year-old girl miraculously survived for 32 hours trapped beneath the rubble of her collapsed apartment building following earthquakes in Venezuela on June 24.

Fabiana Blanco was on the first floor of a ten-story building in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, when a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck. She found herself pinned in a small space with the ceiling just centimeters from her head. During her ordeal, she managed to move some debris to free a leg that was trapped in a painful position.

"I had a leg bent in a painful position and I moved some debris to be able to stretch it. When I did, I got scratches and cuts, but I found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese. That's what kept me conscious," the girl told BBC Mundo. This meager sustenance was all that kept her alive until rescue.

Rescuers faced initial difficulties due to the building's instability, and it was unclear if anyone was still inside. A rescued nurse reported hearing someone, and later a civilian volunteer located Fabiana, guiding rescue teams. Specialized firefighters from Caracas worked for hours, using motorcycle and car lights to illuminate the site at night while they drilled through concrete to create an escape route. She was finally freed around 2 a.m. on Friday.

Medical reports indicated Fabiana suffered "abrasions, bruises, and a fracture" in her left foot. Of the approximately 50 people believed to have been in the Ritamar Palace building, only three were found alive. The official death toll from the earthquakes in the affected region reached over 3,342 fatalities and nearly 17,000 injuries by July 4. Preliminary analyses suggest the widespread building collapses on the coast were caused by the seismic waves' impact on soft, sedimentary soil.

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I had a leg bent in a painful position and I moved some debris to be able to stretch it. When I did, I got scratches and cuts, but I found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese. That's what kept me conscious.