The death toll from the twin earthquakes has climbed to 1,430, while at least 68,900 people remain unaccounted for
As rescuers search for survivors in the aftermath of Venezuela’s twin earthquakes, a young girl who spent two days trapped beneath the rubble of her collapsed five-story apartment building has recounted her ordeal to RT.
The powerful earthquakes that hit the Bolivarian republic earlier this week killed at least 1,430 people, while at least 68,900 others remain unaccounted for, according to the local authorities. Rescue operations continue but hopes of finding survivors are fading.
Andrea Valentina Canonico, who survived the disaster in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state, recalled that the collapse happened almost instantly.
“Everything collapsed in five seconds, I think, no more,” she said. “I remember opening my eyes… and then I found myself among the debris with an injured leg because part of a column or wall had fallen on it. There was smoke everywhere.”
The girl said her mobile phone was her only way of tracking time while trapped beneath the rubble. After its battery died, she was left in complete darkness.
“I believed that I would get out in an hour, two hours, a few days, but I would get out,” she said. “I asked for a second chance at life and promised I would make the most of it.”
Valentina spoke to RT correspondent Andres Fernandez Sanchez about her experience.
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