Lucas Gámez turns nine years old this Monday, trapped under the rubble of the Miramar building in La Guaira, where he has been since June 24, when two earthquakes devastated northern Venezuela. Twelve days later, rescue teams continue to work tirelessly to find him, and his parents remain hopeful of finding him alive.
His mother, Blancalida Martínez Coronado, and his father, Marcos Gámez, have not left the building at any moment and are praying for a miracle to bring their son back.
The boy, born in Argentina and raised in Buenos Aires until January of this year, was visiting his uncles in the Miramar building when the earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 caused the structure to collapse. Since then, rescuers have been conducting an operation to reach him where he is trapped.
The signs of life detected by thermal cameras in the initial days have been diminishing. According to rescuers interviewed by Telediarios de Televisión Española (TVE), some signals are "almost null." Nevertheless, international brigades —including Argentine teams and the USAR El Salvador group— are attempting to open a second access route to increase the chances of reaching the location where the child is.
Even against the clock, the rescuers are working manually—cutting metal with torches and breaking debris with hammers—to prevent heavy machinery from collapsing what remains of the building onto him.
In the early hours of Sunday, a sound test using the mother's voice was conducted to detect movements or heartbeats. "This morning, they performed a sound test with my voice, but we haven't received any response. It was done at 5 AM, due to the silence. We will have results shortly, as it can detect even heartbeats," Blancalida explained to the Argentine channel C5N. The results are still unknown.
This Monday, Taylor Villarreal, a geolocation specialist, activated the microchip in Lucas's phone and determined the exact height where the device is located. “The phone is off, but it can still be located,” he clarified, and relayed that information to the rescuers to guide the search.
Blancalida does not lose hope. "I have a lot of faith, last night we managed to get a little turtle out. Life continues to emerge, there is air there," she said the night before to C5N.
This Monday, on Lucas's ninth anniversary, she remains steadfast in her belief: "I ask you all to pray fervently from your homes because I believe that faith moves mountains and I am very hopeful," she expressed before the cameras of TVE.
The boy's birthday sparked a wave of messages on social media. Venezuelan comedian Kristopher Kerezsy posted a text that Lucas's mother shared on social networks: "While many children today blow out the candles on a cake, he has taught us that hope can also remain alive in the darkness. Happy birthday, Lucas. May the best gift of your 9 years be returning home alive."
A message also came from Carlos Páez, a survivor of the 1972 Andes plane crash, who spent 70 days trapped in the mountains. In a video addressed to Blancalida, Páez recalled that his own mother prayed every single day: "54 years later I am here, and I believe your fight is worth it, the faith you put into it is worth it, it moves me."
The earthquakes of June 24 have left 3,535 confirmed dead and 16,740 injured, according to official data from the Venezuelan government. However, the United Nations (UN) estimates that there are between 50,000 and 55,000 people missing. Little Lucas is one of the thousands of faces in a tragedy that is far from over.
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