A 74-hour search for the family of Argentine soccer player Lucas Trejo ended in tragedy this weekend. Rescue crews recovered the bodies of his wife, Yanina Maranella, and their two children, Aaron and Ainhoa, from the rubble of an apartment building that collapsed during last Wednesday's twin earthquakes.
Trejo, a 38-year-old center back for Venezuelan club Sport Maritimo de La Guaira, was in Caracas with his team when the earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, struck the country's northern coast. His family's building in Playa Grande, La Guaira, collapsed.
"Our building in Playa Grande collapsed. I don't know anything about my family," Trejo wrote on Instagram during the early search hours. "Please pray for them."
Trejo's father and brother traveled from Argentina to assist in the search alongside firefighters, military personnel, and volunteers. The tragedy prompted widespread support from the South American soccer community.
Fellow Argentine footballer Edson Tortolero mourned the loss. "Today my heart breaks into a thousand pieces," he wrote. "There are no words that can ease so much pain."
Club Sport Maritimo de La Guaira confirmed the deaths. "We join the grief that overwhelms player Lucas Trejo for the passing of his wife, Yanina Maranella, and of his children, Aaron and Ainhoa Trejo," the club said. Emergency crews remain in the region as recovery efforts continue.