Tragedy as Footballer’s Wife, Two Children Confirmed Dead (Photo)

Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo has suffered a devastating personal loss after his wife and two young children were confirmed dead following last week’s earthquakes in Venezuela.

Trejo, who plays for Venezuelan second division side Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira, spent three days searching through the wreckage of his family’s beachfront home in La Guaira, hoping to find his wife, Yanina, and their children, Aarón and Ainhoa, alive.

The 38-year-old was attending a training camp with his club in Caracas when the twin earthquakes struck. He rushed home to La Guaira, about 18 miles north of the capital, only to find the building where his family lived reduced to rubble.

Trejo’s brother-in-law, Ricardo Ardiles, told CNN Español that the player was “emotionally overwhelmed” by the disaster.

“What he found was a horrific scene,” Ardiles said. “He found absolutely nothing of what the building itself had been. Our hope is that they weren’t in there.”

As rescue efforts continued, Trejo searched through the debris while appealing for heavy machinery to help clear the site. Friends and teammates also released a video calling for more equipment.

“Right now we only have one machine, but it’s not enough,” said Robert Garcés, who plays for Venezuela’s Metropolitanos F.C.

The search ended in heartbreak on Sunday, June 28, when Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira confirmed the deaths of Trejo’s wife and children.

The club said it “deeply mourns the irreparable loss” of Trejo’s family in a social media post accompanied by a photograph of the footballer with his wife and children.

“Lucas, you are not alone. Your family at Maritime La Guaira is with you,” the club said.

Naija News reports that the earthquakes, described by the US Geological Survey as a rare “doublet” because two major tremors struck just 39 seconds apart, were the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century.

Authorities said more than 1,400 people have died, while thousands remain missing.

The disaster has also claimed the life of promising Venezuelan footballer Yimvert Berroteran.

The Venezuelan national team and the Venezuelan Football Federation confirmed the 18-year-old’s death on Friday. Berroteran had represented his country at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Doha a few months ago and had recently featured for the Under-20 national side.