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Panchito, the parrot that became a symbol of hope after the earthquakes on June 24 in Venezuela, died two days after being rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, unable to overcome the physical deterioration accumulated during nine days of forced captivity.
The bird had been discovered on Friday, July 3rd, by members of the Bolivarian State Firefighters of Miranda, who organized a dedicated team to rescue it from apartment number eight of the structure identified as OPP033, while another group continued the work of extracting people.
Panchito was found alongside the lifeless body of his owner, being the only survivor of that apartment.
The video of the operation went viral around the world: the footage shows firefighters rescuing the parrot from the rubble, offering it water, and speaking to it with emotion.
"My boy, you survived! You’re alive, Panchito," one of the rescuers can be heard saying as the bird drinks desperately.
«For us, every life matters. We continue to work non-stop,» wrote the Firefighters of Miranda as they shared the images on Instagram, where the post garnered over 328,000 reactions and nearly 9,000 comments.
After the rescue, Panchito was taken to veterinary care, but his condition was critical.
According to reports, the bird experienced a brief improvement before dying on Sunday, July 5, from severe dehydration and the injuries sustained during its prolonged confinement under the rubble.
The story of the parrot took place during the most devastating seismic disaster in Venezuela since 1900: two earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 struck the northern part of the country just 39 seconds apart, with the epicenter near Morón, in the Yaracuy state.
La Guaira was the most affected area, with over 250 buildings collapsed, including the José María Vargas Hospital and the Maiquetía International Airport.
The official toll of the tragedy rose this Tuesday to 3,535 deceased and 16,740 injured, while the UN estimated up to 50,000 missing, a figure that the Venezuelan government has not officially confirmed.
Panchito's case was not the only animal rescue that brought moments of relief amid the tragedy.
A dog named Buddy was rescued alive after eight days under the rubble in Caraballeda, a Yorkshire Terrier survived ten days trapped in La Guaira, and this Tuesday the rescue of Milo was reported, a dog that endured 12 days under the debris of a building.
More than 3,300 foreign specialists from 45 delegations and 140 trained search dogs participated in the search efforts, hailing from countries such as the United States, Spain, Costa Rica, Jordan, and Cuba, among others.
The American teams completed their operations on Monday, after nearly two weeks of work.
The death of Panchito sadly marked the end of a story that had given a moment of hope to millions of people around the world, amidst a catastrophe that NASA estimated resulted in more than 58,870 damaged buildings and 1.2 million tons of debris just in La Guaira.
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