Child Survives 32 Hours Under Rubble With Ketchup and Cheese

Following two major earthquakes in Venezuela on June 24, 12-year-old Fabiana Blanco was rescued after 32 hours under the rubble. Blanco stated that she survived by eating ketchup and cheese while waiting to be rescued.Blanco, a resident of La Guaira, recounted her experience under the rubble.

I saw everything shaking, falling, breaking, and then the walls cracking. The wall that separated my apartment from the next door collapsed. At that moment, I thought, 'I'm going to die, I won't be able to survive here, no one will rescue me.'

She heard a nurse from the upper floor calling out to see if anyone was alive and was told to remain calm.Blanco found a bottle of ketchup and sliced cheese under the rubble, which helped her stay conscious. Rescue teams finally reached her after 32 hours. When she was pulled out, Blanco saw her family and the completely destroyed building.Two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 occurred in Venezuela on June 24. The death toll from the earthquakes rose to 3,342, with 16,740 injured. The direct physical damage from the earthquakes was estimated at $6.7 billion.