Trapped survivor recounts earthquake ordeal: 'Losing my husband hurts more than losing my hand'

Nayarit Colmenares recounts the harrowing experience of being trapped for two days after earthquakes struck Venezuela's northern coast. Buried in darkness, she battled the smell of cement and gas, fearing she would drown as water seeped through the debris. Her right side was crushed, leaving her hand and leg severely injured.

Colmenares, an architect, illustrator, and designer, was preparing for an online artificial intelligence course with her husband, Henry, when the Palmar Este 1 building in Caraballeda collapsed. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck at 6:05 p.m. on June 24, devastating the coastal region.

"The pain was so strong I thought I had fractured my arm," she recalls, referring to her dominant hand, used for drawing, painting, and crafting. "I tried to imagine the light and the sky, as if looking to leave... to leave without pain, trying to tell God that I no longer wanted to feel pain."

She clung to life, repeating "Three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without eating" to gauge her survival time. "My body was on extreme alert," she says, her voice calm despite the ordeal. She found a faint phone signal, allowing her to call out for Henry, her husband of 11 years. They had met in high school and shared a life, including a vinyl record business.

"Henry, I love you," she whispered, recalling his last moments. She remembers him walking towards her for a hug as the building shook, but the collapse left her disoriented. "There was a moment when I was feeling around and I felt something..." she trails off, the memory of her husband's fate in the rubble a lingering pain.