Through the pile of rubble, Fabiana could hear nothing.
“For some reason, I had hope and faith,” she said. “One of my legs was bent in a painful position, and I moved some of the rubble so I could straighten it out. While doing that I got scrapes and cuts, but I found a bottle of ketchup and some grated cheese. That’s what kept me conscious.”
At dawn a group of Venezuelan firefighters came to the building. They went into the rubble and called out for Fabiana, but they heard nothing in response.
It was one of many moments that Karina swung from hope to despair.
“They told me nothing could be done, and they left. I had a sinking thought that maybe she had suffocated to death or had suffered a heart attack. Then a volunteer came up to me and asked me what was going on. He – Viktor – was my hero,” she said.
Under the rubble Fabiana found her phone. There was no signal as mobile phone networks had gone down, but she decided to record a video of herself. She thought she would eventually be able to send it to her mother or someone who could help.
“Apartment – Ritamar Palace. There was a tremor and lot of rubble has fallen. There is no light. There is no-one to rescue us. I am alone. Many neighbours are trapped in the rubble. We need your help,” Fabiana can be seen saying in the video.
Meanwhile Viktor had clambered up the debris and began calling out to Fabiana. This time she heard him and replied. He told Karina.
“I turned to everyone and screamed, ‘my daughter is alive’,” said Karina. “People started arriving in droves, they started bringing tools. But the firefighters who were there said it was impossible to get through, and they left.”
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