Venezuela Earthquake: Young Fabio Dies, Hope Remains for Trapped Police Chief

Hope flickers for Gustavo Romero Matamoros, the police chief of Venezuela's La Guaira state, who remains trapped under the rubble of the Oasis Beach condominium in Catia La Mar. The building collapsed during earthquakes on June 24. Rescuers, cited by local media, report that Romero has re-established contact with search teams in the past few hours, prompting an intensification of rescue operations. He has been trapped for nine days.

The devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 have officially claimed 2,645 lives and injured 12,666 people, according to the latest report from the Ministry of People's Power for Communication and Information. The Venezuelan authorities also report 15,050 displaced individuals, 885 damaged buildings, and 189 collapsed structures. Emergency operations involve over 29,500 personnel and 3,305 international rescuers, with 890 aftershocks recorded.

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love, we know where you are, rescuers are coming for you. Please, hold on.

While the nation held onto hope for a miracle after the rescue of Hernan Gil, the tragic news emerged that nine-year-old Fabio did not survive. After days of arduous work, rescuers from several countries were forced to abandon their search for the boy, who was trapped for nine days under the collapsed Tahiti building. "No more signs of life were detected," Efe was told after sonar and georadar yielded no results. The boy had been just six meters from rescuers.

Attention now turns to Romero Matamoros. Rescuers have managed to communicate with him, located not far from the Tahiti building's collapse site. Journalist Aymara Lorenzo shared a video on social media, later amplified by local media, showing a rescuer explaining to Romero's wife that he has a crushed hand and limited arm movement, communicating via Morse code. His wife sent him a radio message: "love, we know where you are, rescuers are coming for you. Please, hold on." In another video, rescuers ask onlookers to maintain silence when hand signals are given, to better detect sounds from beneath the rubble. The story of Fabio, who was watched over by his father Francisco for three days, had deeply moved the country.

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No more signs of life were detected.