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The 74-hour search for the family of Argentine soccer star Lucas Trejo ended this weekend after rescuers recovered the bodies of his wife and two children from the rubble of the apartment building that collapsed in Wednesday's twin earthquakes.
Trejo, 38, a center back for the Venezuelan club Sport Marítimo de La Guaira, was in Caracas with his team when earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 shook the country's northern coast.
Soccer player Lucas Trejo lost his wife and two children after the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. (Photo credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo credit should go to FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images))
After learning that his family's apartment building had collapsed in Playa Grande, La Guaira, he immediately traveled to the disaster zone to join the search.
“Our building in Playa Grande collapsed. I don't know anything about my family,” Trejo wrote on Instagram during the first hours of the search. “Please pray for them and share this message in case anyone saw them. I want to believe they weren't there.”
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Trejo's father and brother traveled from Argentina to help firefighters, military personnel and volunteers search through the rubble.
Two earthquakes devastated the northern coast of Venezuela, leaving widespread destruction as emergency teams continue recovery efforts. (Photo by Javier Campos/Picture Alliance via Getty Images) ((Photo by Javier Campos/Picture Alliance via Getty Images))
The search ended after rescuers recovered the bodies of Trejo's wife, Yanina Maranella, and his children, Aarón and Ainhoa.
The tragedy sparked an outpouring of support from across the South American football community.
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The Argentine soccer player Edson Tortolero, a close friend of Trejo, also mourned the death of the family.
“Today my heart breaks into a thousand pieces,” Tortolero wrote. “There are no words that can ease so much pain. I ask God to give Lucas strength to endure this unimaginable loss.”
The Club Sport Marítimo de La Guaira confirmed the deaths in a statement on Sunday.
A 74-hour search ended in anguish for defender Lucas Trejo after rescuers found his family. (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP) (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP) (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images))
“We join the pain that the player Lucas Trejo is experiencing due to the death of his wife, Yanina Maranella, and his children, Aarón and Ainhoa Trejo,” the club stated. “Peace to your souls and comfort to Lucas and all his loved ones.”
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Trejo's family is among the victims of the earthquakes that devastated parts of Venezuela's northern coast. Emergency crews remain in the region as recovery efforts continue.
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