Lucas Trejo's wife and two children found dead after 74-hour search in Venezuela earthquake

Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo has lost his wife and two young children in the earthquakes that have devastated Venezuela, with their bodies discovered after a 74-hour search. Yanina Maranella and the couple’s children, Aaron and Ainhoa Trejo, were in Playa Grande when their apartment collapsed during the disaster that struck on Wednesday, 24 June.

Venezuelan club Sport Maritimo de La Guaira confirmed the deaths in an official statement. “Club Sport Maritimo La Guaira deeply mourns the loss suffered by Lucas Trejo’s family; we ask for respect for his relatives and teammates,” the club wrote. “After a 74-hour search, they were found deceased.”

Former Venezuela international Edson Tortolero, a close friend of Trejo, announced the news on Instagram. “We inform all the people of Venezuela and Argentina that the bodies of Lucas Trejo’s family members have been found lifeless,” Tortolero wrote. “We thank everyone for the support and ask for the most sincere respect for his family at this time.”

Trejo has not yet spoken publicly about the loss. He shared a photograph of the four of them on his Instagram Stories without a caption. Argentine media reported that his father and brother had travelled to Venezuela to support him during the search.

At least 1,500 people have been killed and 69,000 reported missing since the back-to-back earthquakes struck the country. The La Guaira region, north of the capital Caracas, bore the brunt of the destruction.

The tragedy has claimed several other lives connected to Venezuelan sport. Eighteen-year-old Venezuelan footballer Yiimvert Berroteran is among the confirmed fatalities, as is Daisy Hernandez, wife of former Major League Baseball player Gorkys Hernandez. Defender Héctor Bello, who plays for second-division side Marítimo de La Guaira, lost his wife Andrea when their building collapsed. Andrea died shielding their one-year-old daughter with her own body.