A mother died shielding her six-year-old daughter from falling rubble during the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Venezuela’s coastal state of Sucre on Tuesday, British aid workers confirmed today. The woman, identified by local authorities as Mariana Rojas, 34, was trapped under the collapsed roof of her home in the town of Cumaná. Her daughter, Sofia, survived with minor injuries, cradled in her mother’s arms.
“It was an act of pure instinct, the kind of love that defies logic,” said James Thornton, a rescue worker with the UK-based charity ShelterBox, who arrived in the region on Wednesday. “She curled her body around the child, took the full weight of the concrete. That little girl owes her life to her mother’s extraordinary courage.”
The quake struck at 9:45 p.m. local time, levelling hundreds of homes in the impoverished fishing communities along the coast. At least 12 people are confirmed dead, with dozens missing. British aid teams from ShelterBox and the Red Cross have joined the rescue effort, providing emergency shelter, clean water and medical supplies.
Thornton described the devastation as “catastrophic.” He added: “These are families who had very little to begin with. Now they have nothing. The government is overwhelmed. The hospitals are swamped. We are doing what we can, but the scale is immense.”
The Rojas family lived in a hillside shack made of corrugated iron and concrete blocks. Neighbours said Mariana worked as a fish vendor at the local market, earning barely enough to feed her daughter. “She was a fighter. She never complained,” said Maria Gonzalez, 58, who lived next door. “She would do anything for that child. And she did. She gave everything.”
Sofia was found by rescuers at dawn, still wrapped in her mother’s arms, her small hands clutching a worn doll. She was taken to a nearby clinic where she is being treated for dehydration and shock. Aid workers say she keeps asking for her mother.
“We’ve arranged counselling for her, but she’s too young to fully understand,” said Dr. Ana Castillo, a paediatrician volunteering with the British Red Cross. “What she needs now is safety, stability and love. We are trying to find extended family, but many are displaced or dead.”
The earthquake struck a region already reeling from economic collapse, hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine. Venezuela’s crisis has seen millions flee the country in recent years. Those who remain are among the poorest in Latin America.
“This is a country where mother’s love is one of the few things left that isn’t broken,” said Thornton. “We see it every day. But this woman’s sacrifice will not be forgotten. She is a symbol of the resilience of the Venezuelan people.”
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly offered condolences and pledged an additional £500,000 in emergency aid. The funds will go to ShelterBox and the Red Cross for tents, water purification tablets and medical supplies.
“We stand with Venezuela in its hour of need. The bravery of Mariana Rojas is a light in the darkness,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the search for survivors continues. Rescuers are digging through rubble with their bare hands, racing against the clock. The aftershocks have not stopped. The rain has begun to fall.
For the aid workers, the image of Mariana and Sofia will stay with them forever. “I’ve been doing this for 15 years,” said Thornton. “You never get used to it. But you also never forget why you do it. For the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice, we owe it to them to keep going.”
