In one of the most emotional rescues to emerge from Venezuela's catastrophic twin earthquakes, a new mother and her 18-day-old son were pulled alive from the ruins of a collapsed eight-story apartment building in La Guaira - more than 32 hours after the ground shook beneath them.
Dayana Patiño and her newborn son, Juan David, were buried under a collapsed building in the Playa Grande neighborhood of Catia La Mar after the June 24 earthquakes struck.
Trapped under debris with no way to move, Patiño held her baby tightly in her arms for hours, unable to breastfeed him.
Rescuers were not able to reach the Patiños until 1 a.m. Friday. It was volunteers who first heard her voice and the baby's cry rising from the ruins.
Her husband and brothers had refused to give up the search, aided by local volunteers who cleared the rubble manually using buckets and containers.
Juan David was safely extracted first, around 11 p.m. Thursday. His mother was pulled out approximately an hour later. Doctors confirmed that neither the mother nor the baby had suffered any fractures. "She fought to keep her baby safe," one rescuer said. "It was a miracle."
The moment was captured on video and spread widely across social media. As Dayana was freed, her loved ones cried out: "Sister, I love you, we did it. Glory to God, the glory is for God, we did it."
The overall toll from the earthquakes has now climbed to at least 920 deaths, with over 3,000 injured and more than 70,000 reported missing. La Guaira remains the hardest-hit region.
Neighbors continue digging through rubble with their bare hands, searching for loved ones alongside international rescue teams.
Even in the darkest moments, faith broke through. For one family in La Guaira, a baby's cry beneath the concrete was answered - and the first words spoken when mother and son emerged were a prayer of thanksgiving.
If you feel called to help, Samaritan's Purse is actively responding on the ground. You can give at samaritanspurse.org.
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