Footballer’s Family Missing After Venezuela Quake

Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo has issued a heartfelt appeal for help in locating his wife and two children after they went missing in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Venezuela, a disaster that has left hundreds dead, more than a thousand injured and thousands of families desperately searching for loved ones.

The tragedy has turned a national emergency into a deeply personal nightmare for the 38-year-old defender, who currently plays for Venezuelan second-division club Sport Marítimo La Guaira. Trejo revealed that the residential building where his family lived in Playa Grande collapsed during the earthquake, and he has not heard from them since.

According to reports, Venezuela was struck on the night of 24 June by two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale. The twin tremors caused widespread destruction across affected areas, damaging buildings, disrupting essential services and prompting large-scale rescue operations.

Authorities have confirmed at least 164 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries. Rescue teams continue to search through the rubble of collapsed structures amid fears that many people remain trapped. Various media reports have suggested that as many as 11,000 people are still unaccounted for, highlighting the scale of the humanitarian crisis unfolding across the country.

Among those anxiously awaiting news is Trejo, whose wife, Yanina Maraneya, and their two children, Aaron and Ainhoa, were believed to be living in the building that collapsed in Playa Grande.

In an emotional message posted on Instagram, the Argentine defender appealed directly to the public for assistance.

“Our building in Playa Grande has collapsed. I have no news of my family,” Trejo wrote. “Please pray for them, and if anyone has seen them, share this message. I want to believe they were not inside the building at the time. Please pray for my family.”

The message quickly gained attention across social media, with football supporters, fellow players and members of the wider sporting community sharing the appeal in the hope of helping locate his family. Messages of support poured in from both Argentina and Venezuela as people rallied behind the footballer during what is undoubtedly the most difficult period of his life.

Trejo’s story has emerged as one of the most poignant human narratives linked to the disaster. While casualty figures and damage assessments continue to dominate headlines, the uncertainty facing families searching for missing relatives illustrates the profound personal suffering caused by such catastrophes.

The experienced defender has spent much of his career in Venezuelan football and is now in the latter stages of his playing days. Yet football has understandably become secondary as he focuses entirely on finding his family.

Meanwhile, rescue workers continue their efforts in the hardest-hit areas. Emergency personnel, volunteers and local authorities are working around the clock to locate survivors, clear debris and provide assistance to affected communities. For many families, each passing hour brings a mixture of hope and anxiety as they wait for information about relatives who remain missing.

Trejo’s appeal reflects the anguish being experienced by thousands of Venezuelans whose lives were transformed in a matter of seconds. As search operations continue, hopes remain that survivors may still be found beneath the rubble and that families separated by the disaster can be reunited.

For now, the whereabouts of Trejo’s wife and children remain unknown, leaving the footballer and countless others clinging to hope amid the devastation left behind by one of the country’s most destructive earthquakes in recent years.