In brief
In the wake of a devastating 7.5‑magnitude quake that struck Caraballeda, a 12‑year‑old named Fabiana was trapped beneath rubble for more than 32 hours. While the building around her collapsed, she managed to keep her mind alive by finding a bottle of ketchup and a portion of grated cheese, a comfort that helped him survive. Volunteer Viktor and other rescuers worked through the night, and at 2:00 a.m. the girl was extracted and reunited with her mother, Karina. The rescue effort drew 50 people from the building and left thousands above ground, with over 3,300 dead and many missing. Despite injuries to her left foot and several scrapes, Fabiana is now living with her grandmother and hopes the community will rise from the disaster.
When a 7.5‑magnitude quake hit coastal Venezuela on 24 June, 12‑year‑old Fabiana was caught beneath the collapsed walls of her family's apartment building in Caraballeda.
She survived more than 32 hours of darkness and crushing dust, drinking ketchup and eating grated cheese that she found hiding behind the wreckage. In a quiet, intense moment of desperation, the young girl reported that the ketchup and cheese, along with a sudden sense of calm, kept her consciousness alive.
The rescue team first arrived later that night. Firefighters explored the rubble but were unable to reach Fabiana until a volunteer named Viktor—who had been on the scene for hours—continued to call her from a precarious position, eventually prompting her voice. In a video she recorded beside her phone, Fabiana urged that rescue teams reach her and praised the volunteers.
By 2:00 a.m. on the following day, bulldozers, shovels and the patience of volunteer rescuers had cleared a tunnel large enough to pull Fabiana toward the surface, where tears of joy marked her reunion with her mother, Karina. The family made a tearful walk back to their failing building, where the only survivors were the mother, the daughter and one other resident.
The quakes left at least 3,342 dead and tens of thousands missing, yet Fabiana’s story offers a beacon of resilience. She recovered physically, suffering only a fractured left foot and a few cuts, and is now living with her grandmother while the community works to rebuild the shattered neighborhoods.
In dearest moments the image of ketchup and cheese reminded Fabiana of ordinary comforts now precious. Her survival earned her local hero status in Venezuelan media, and her video went viral across social networks.
