The earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday, June 25, 2026, left at least 1,450 dead and tens of thousands missing. The hope and then despair of an Argentinian footballer after the death of his wife and children illustrate the scale of the tragedy.
Two powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale respectively, struck Venezuela on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. As of Monday, June 29, 2026, the provisional death toll stood at 1,450. This figure is unfortunately expected to rise , as the search continues and tens of thousands of people remain missing.
Behind these figures, which can sometimes seem abstract or unreal, lie tragic personal stories, including that of Lucas Trejo, an Argentinian footballer. He is not part of the squad currently competing in the World Cup . The defender plays in Venezuela’s second division and therefore lived in the war-torn country with his family. The tragedy he has just experienced has moved the entire world.
“Our building has collapsed”: footballer Lucas Trejo’s distress message
The Playa Grande apartment building where the family lived was located in one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquakes. It collapsed during the quake. Unharmed, Lucas Trejo quickly appealed to his more than 100,000 Instagram followers for help in getting news of his wife and their two children. ” Our building collapsed and I have no news of my family. Please pray for them and share this message with anyone who might have seen them. I want to believe they weren’t there ,” he wrote.
Unfortunately, the terrible news was confirmed on X by the footballer’s club , Marítimo de La Guaira. ” We join in the grief that overwhelms our player Lucas Trejo, following the death of his wife, Yanina Maranella, and his children, Aaron and Ainhoa ,” they announced. A symbol of the national tragedy represented by the disaster, the same club also mourns the deaths of two of its young players, from the under-17 and under-15 teams. ” The number of buildings affected or collapsed has reached 774, with 189 having suffered total collapse ,” stated the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly on Sunday, June 28, 2026.