The wife of Venezuelan footballer Héctor Bello was killed while saving their daughter, according to his social media and local news.
Bello wrote on Instagram that “his precious love”, named by Venezuelan news outlets as his wife Andrea, saved the life of their toddler during the quakes.
“I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love – how you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths,” Bello wrote in one post.
“Do you remember sending me that photo? I told you, ‘That little girl is so beautiful,’ and you asked, ‘Me too, right?’ and started laughing. I told you, ‘Yes, you’re beautiful too, but not more than me—hahaha.’ We used to laugh on the phone, and the baby would always hang up the call—like when we’d use those filters and she’d get scared, saying, ‘Daddy, no like.’ Oh, my Andrea… Mommy, you’ve shattered my soul,” he wrote with crying and heartbreak emojis.
“I’ll always remember you, Mommy—always. Remember how I used to tell you that you’d be my woman for the rest of my life? You’d laugh, so in love, and your cheeks would turn red… Oh, Andrea… Mommy, I can’t handle this, my love—I really can’t,” Bello added.
Bello directed a message to his daughter in another post telling her she needs to help him heal.
“Oh, my daughter… Mommy needs you to be strong—just wait for me a little longer,” he wrote, including a snapshot of the smiling toddler. “I need you to be the one to heal my heart, because right now it’s in pieces. You won’t see your daddy looking strong or smiling like always, but I promise I’ll heal and make you the happiest girl in the world.
“Now it’s just you and me—and your mommy, who will be watching over us from heaven. I know Andrea will give me strength; I know she sees what I’m going through and is suffering for us, too. But amidst all this pain, I know that if she had just a minute to say something to me, she’d tell me to protect you with my life—just as she did—and never to forget to buy you those bananas you love so much.”
The Venezuelan footballer also shared an image of his daughter with a black eye and a bandage on her arm on his Instagram Story.
More than 920 people have been killed and 3,360 others injured in the Venezuela earthquakes, according to the government, as rescuers keep searching for survivors and families wait desperately for news.
The injured are being treated in makeshift medical facilities after the two quakes demolished scores of structures in the country’s north, including Caracas, the capital.
A top Venezuelan government official said hundreds of international rescue personnel had arrived in the country, with more on their way.
Two massive earthquakes struck Venezuela within seconds of each other on Wednesday. The second quake had a magnitude of 7.5, making it one of the biggest shocks to hit the country in a century.
According to officials, the most devastated location is La Guaira, located north of the city. The state is home to one of the country’s two main ports and Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, the main airport.
Many individuals remain missing, and the death toll is sure to climb as rescue attempts continue.
Natacha Diaz of La Guaira told the BBC that her two daughters, ages 22 and 23, were trapped beneath the wreckage of a collapsed retail center where they worked as manicurists.
“They were with their friends,” she said. “I just want them to be found. I have faith and hope that they are there.”
“I just want them back with me. They are all I have, please.”
National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez stated in a national TV broadcast on Friday that the death toll had risen to 920, with at least 172 people still feared to be trapped.
In La Guaira alone, at least 243 people have been saved, according to the leading congressman, who is the temporary president’s brother.
Dozens of people have been rescued alive, which “brings us joy that they can embrace their families and loved ones,” Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said at a televised briefing on Friday.
