Having miraculously survived 32 hours buried under the rubble of an earthquake, a young mother in Venezuela has shared her extraordinary struggle for survival to protect her 18-day-old baby.

Patino is receiving treatment at the hospital, accompanied by her husband and child.
When the devastating earthquake struck Venezuela on June 24th, Dayana Patino and her newborn son, Juan David, were in their eighth-floor apartment in a building in the city of La Guaira. The building collapsed, burying the mother and child under the rubble.
Recalling the tragic moment, Patino remains shaken. Speaking to the BBC, she recounted: “I felt like I was being thrown into the air. Then I felt like I was sinking into water and dust, then falling into a hole and getting stuck there. I don’t understand how I managed to hold onto my child even though I was thrown around. My body felt like it was being crushed between the furniture.”

Patino said one of her legs was trapped under a large slab of concrete, while her temple was pressed tightly against a rock. She was almost completely immobile, only able to wrap her arms around her baby.

Despite the physical pain and emotional shock, the young mother told herself she had to stay calm. Baby Juan’s cries were the “driving force that kept her awake and alert.”

“As long as he’s alive, I’ll live too. Sometimes, I touch his nose to make sure he’s still breathing,” Patino said emotionally.

In the desperate darkness with only a small crack in the wall, Patino decided to conserve her strength and voice. She patiently waited until she heard the sounds of people around her. Finally, after many long hours, she heard her brother calling her name.

“I used all my strength to scream… I yelled, ‘I’m here!’, and he replied, ‘I’ve found you, I promise I won’t leave until I get you out,’” she recalled the hopeful moment.

Rescue workers later arrived and successfully rescued the mother and child from the rubble. Video footage from the scene shows her husband, Gerson, in tears, embracing their young son. Earlier, he had despaired, believing his wife and child could not have survived.

The mother and son were immediately taken to a hospital in the capital, Caracas. Patino is currently recovering from injuries to both legs. Miraculously, Juan David only suffered minor injuries. According to The Guardian, the mother and son were trapped under the rubble for a total of 32 hours.

Although the family was fortunate enough to be reunited, Gerson said they had lost all their possessions.

This earthquake is a devastating disaster for Venezuela. According to the President of the National Assembly , Jorge Rodríguez, as of now, the natural disaster has claimed the lives of more than 1,700 people and injured over 5,000 others.

Tien Kim
Source: https://cand.vn/nguoi-me-om-con-song-sot-ky-dieu-duoi-dong-do-nat-o-venezuela-post815318.html