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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Disasters & Emergencies

Man Risks Life to Rescue Neighbors During El Paraíso Earthquakes

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Omar Vega risked his life to rescue neighbors from a collapsing building during earthquakes in El Paraíso, Venezuela.
  • The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes caused widespread damage, with over 2,000 fatalities reported, particularly in La Guaira.
  • Vega, drawing on past experience, broke down doors and helped evacuate residents, including an elderly woman and a pregnant woman, from the damaged Miranda building.

Omar Vega, a resident of the Miranda building in El Paraíso, Venezuela, became an unlikely hero during a powerful earthquake. As the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude tremors struck on June 24, his own fear turned into a drive to help his neighbors trapped in the shaking structure.

Let me go, let me go!

— Elderly womanThe elderly woman's reaction as Omar Vega attempted to help her out of her apartment during the earthquake.

Vega recounted to El Nacional that he was eating soup when the earthquake hit. He initially fled his apartment on the main avenue of Las Fuentes but immediately returned to the building, which he described as "arrecho" (tough/difficult), thinking the ordeal would never end. Drawing on his experience with fires and explosions, he took charge of rescue efforts.

Come on, Maryuri, I have to get more people out.

— Omar VegaVega's encouragement to the elderly woman as he tried to get her to move.

He described pulling an elderly woman, who was paralyzed by a panic attack, from her apartment on the fourth floor. "Let me go, let me go!" she reportedly cried as he tried to help her. He also broke down doors on the second and third floors to free others screaming for help. From the first-floor balcony, he rescued a woman who was nearly nine months pregnant, reassuring her to "hold on to me, have faith that everything will turn out well."

People were screaming, crying, asking to be taken out. I went up, broke the bars and doors on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and got them out.

— Omar VegaVega describing his efforts to rescue people from upper floors of the damaged building.

While Vega's building, Miranda, sustained severe structural damage, the adjacent San Judas Tadeo building collapsed entirely, killing seven of its eight occupants. Rescue workers and military personnel were seen clearing debris and securing the area as residents awaited official structural assessments. The earthquakes have claimed over 2,000 lives, with La Guaira being the most affected region.

Hold on to me, have faith that everything will turn out well.

— Omar VegaVega reassuring a pregnant woman as he rescued her from the first-floor balcony.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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