Girl rescued after being trapped in rubble for 32 hours following Venezuela quakes
This story involves abuse allegations. Any claims of wrongdoing described here are allegations, not established facts, unless a court or official body has ruled otherwise. This disclosure does not remove our responsibility for what's published below.
See sources Request a correction Report a serious problem / request takedown Corrections & takedown policy
AI-assisted synthesis, reviewed and approved by the editorial team. Generated , updated since first publication on as new sources were added. Approved by editorial team: .
A 12-year-old girl was rescued from a collapsed residential building in Venezuela after being trapped for over 30 hours. She reported surviving on ketchup and cheese while underground.
Amalgamated from BBC World (opens in new tab), BBC World (opens in new tab), BBC News (opens in new tab)
A 12-year-old girl, identified as Fabiana, was rescued from the debris of a 10-story residential building following seismic activity in Venezuela during June.
According to reports from BBC News and BBC World, the girl remained trapped for 32 hours after two earthquakes struck the region. She described her experience underground, stating that she survived by eating ketchup and cheese while waiting for rescue workers to reach her.
The building collapsed following the tremors in June, which impacted multiple structures across the country. Rescue teams were able to locate and extract her from the rubble several days after the initial events.
Why this matters
The incident highlights the human impact of the significant earthquake activity in Venezuela during 2026. It also underscores the complexities faced by emergency responders when navigating collapsed multi-story structures following major seismic events.
What's confirmed / what isn't
The details regarding the girl's age, the duration of her entrapment, and her method of survival are confirmed by reports from BBC News and BBC World. Specific figures regarding total casualties and infrastructure damage were reported in social media updates but were not included in the primary news coverage provided.
Background
In June 2026, Venezuela experienced a series of earthquakes with reported magnitudes between 7.2 and 7.5, causing significant structural damage to residential buildings.