A footballer’s wife was killed in Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes as she acted to save the life of her one-year-old daughter.
Rescuers found Andrea Bello’s body among the rubble, but her daughter Alana survived following her mother’s efforts to shield her during their home’s collapse.
In raw social media posts, husband Hector Bello, a defender for Venezuela’s second division side Marítimo de La GuairaBello shared his heartbreak, saying: ‘You left us alone in the fight, mummy. You left me all alone with our daughter.
‘Andrea, how do I explain to your daughter that you lost your life to save hers and I wasn’t there in that moment to do anything? How do I explain? Give me strength now because I can’t take any more.’
Meanwhile, a British search and rescue team has been deployed to Venezuela, where the death toll from Wednesday’s earthquakes reached almost 1,000.
And in a message on X tonight, the King said he and the Queen were deeply saddened’ and sent ‘our most heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this terrible tragedy’.
Bello continued his tributes to his late wife by saying: ‘You’ll always be our favourite hero, Mummy.
‘I’m going to make sure our baby remembers how wonderful you were, how much you loved her.
Andrea (pictured), the wife of footballer Héctor Bello, died saving their daughter’s life during the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday
A view shows a heavily damaged apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state
‘I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, how you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who, even with your last breath, never abandoned her.’
Bello, a central defender also known as ‘Kike’, added: ‘You would laugh all in love and your cheeks would turn red. Oh Andrea, Mummy, I can’t handle this, my love, I really can’t.’
The messages moved football fans and the wider public, with tributes pouring in for the family who had welcomed their daughter only months earlier.
The 68-strong new British team, made up of personnel from fire brigades across the country, left RAF Brize Norton on Friday along with six specialist search dogs and humanitarian staff.
Wednesday’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes were among the strongest to hit Venezuela for more than a century and could be felt throughout the region.
Local authorities have reported 920 people have died and 3,360 were injured in the earthquakes, with the toll expected to continue rising.
Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘My thoughts are with the people of Venezuela following this week’s devastating earthquakes.
‘The UK stands in solidarity with all those affected, particularly those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods.’
People search for survivors while others try to salvage belongings in a collapsed building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar
A British search and rescue team has been deployed to Venezuela to support those affected by the earthquakes
The search and rescue team has been provided by UK International Search and Rescue (UKISAR), which responds to disasters on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
As well as the UKISAR team, Britain has despatched members of the UK Emergency Medical Team to prepare for a further medical deployment.
The Government has also made £2million of humanitarian funding available to help respond to the disaster.
The King’s statement on Friday night said: ‘To the people of Venezuela, My wife and I were deeply saddened to learn of the devastating earthquakes that have struck your country, and of the tragic loss of life and suffering they have caused.
‘At this most difficult of times, we send our profound sympathy to all those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods. Our special thoughts are with the injured, those awaiting news of family and friends, and the emergency responders working tirelessly to support those in desperate need.
‘We greatly admire the resilience and strength of the Venezuelan people and send our most heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this terrible tragedy. Charles R.’
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office confirmed that UK staff were all safe and accounted for after the British embassy in Caracas was damaged in the earthquakes.
The embassy – which is on the 11th floor of an office tower in the north east of the city – has been closed, but alternative arrangements have been put in place to assist British nationals in the country.
The number of British citizens in Venezuela is understood to be in the low hundreds and there have been no reports of Britons killed or injured, it is understood.
Footage has shown the aftermath of the tragedy, with one video capturing the moment a woman was pulled alive from rubble after the building she was in, in the city of La Guaira, collapsed.
Graciela Mora is seen, covered in dust, being carried out of the rubble on a stretcher as rescue workers and volunteers cheer.
Rescue workers stand on the slab of a collapsed building amid twisted rebar and debris during search operations
A woman was pulled alive from rubble after two powerful earthquakes shook Venezuela
Footage shows the moment Graciela Mora was pulled from under the debris of a collapsed building in the city of La Guaira
In a recorded interview after being rescued, Ms Mora explained how she was holding on to a door frame when ‘all the floors collapsed.’
She also detailed how her friend died holding her hand, adding: ‘I saw her hand like that and grabbed it. So that she could go.’
Ms Mora sustained several injuries, including a broken finger.
Other injured people have been pulled out, also covered in dust and blood – among them children.
A separate video showed the chilling cries of a one-month-old baby who was found alive in the rubble of a collapsed building.
Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a bare foot poking out before rescuers slid her out alive.
The coastal region of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties.
The country’s main airport is there and was closed due to damage, complicating aid efforts.
Volunteers search for possible victims in a collapsed building following twin earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, some 40 km northeast of Caracas, on June 25
A volunteer carries a rescued dog across the rubble of a collapsed building following twin earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, some 40 km northeast of Caracas
Emergency personnel rescue a person from the rubble of a collapsed residential building following an earthquake in Caraballeda, La Guaira, Venezuela, June 25
Many were stunned on Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead.
Buildings were flattened, and streets cracked open.
Families posted missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched.
Venezuelans abroad struggled to make contact with relatives due to interrupted phone service in the country.
In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.
Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira.
Media reports have shared notable moments of hope among the destruction, including a young man brought out on a stretcher in the San Bernardino district of Caracas to the applause of onlookers as his tearful mother said, ‘Leandro, I love you.’
Venezuelan public television broadcast video of a girl covered in dust and wrapping herself in a dark sweatshirt as she emerged from rubble with the help of rescuers.
Caracas metropolitan rescue team head Jose Luis Nunez said she was found in a ten-story building in La Guaira that collapsed and flattened ‘like a pancake.’
The natural disaster is the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodriguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the capture and removal from power of then-President Nicolas Maduro by the United States.
