Argentine soccer player’s wife, children found dead in Venezuela quake

The 74-hour search for the family of Argentine soccer star Lucas Trejo ended this weekend after rescue crews recovered the bodies of his wife and two children from the rubble of the apartment building that collapsed in Wednesday’s twin earthquakes.

Trejo, 38, a center back for Venezuelan club Sport Maritimo de La Guaira, was in Caracas with his team when earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck the country’s northern coast.

Soccer player Lucas Trejo lost his wife and two children after Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes. (Photo credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images))

After learning his family’s apartment building had collapsed in Playa Grande, La Guaira, he immediately traveled to the disaster zone to join the search.

“Our building in Playa Grande collapsed. I don’t know anything about my family,” Trejo wrote on Instagram during the early hours of the search. “Please pray for them and share this message in case someone saw them. I want to believe they weren’t there.”

33 RESCUED FROM VENEZUELAN RUBBLE: SURVIVAL WINDOW DESPERATELY FADING WITH NEARLY 50,000 MISSING

Trejo’s father and brother traveled from Argentina to assist firefighters, military personnel and volunteers searching through the debris.

Twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela’s northern coast, leaving widespread destruction as emergency crews continue recovery efforts. (Photo by Javier Campos/picture alliance via Getty Images) ((Photo by Javier Campos/picture alliance via Getty Images))

The search ended after rescuers recovered the bodies of Trejo’s wife, Yanina Maranella, and their children, Aaron and Ainhoa.

The tragedy prompted an outpouring of support from across the South American soccer community.

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Fellow Argentine footballer Edson Tortolero, a close friend of Trejo’s, mourned the family’s deaths.

“Today my heart breaks into a thousand pieces,” Tortolero wrote. “There are no words that can ease so much pain. I ask God to give Lucas strength to endure this unimaginable loss.”

Club Sport Maritimo de La Guaira confirmed the deaths in a statement on Sunday.

A 74-hour search ended in heartbreak for defender Lucas Trejo after rescuers found his family. (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP) (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP) (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images))

“We join the grief that overwhelms player Lucas Trejo for the passing of his wife, Yanina Maranella, and of his children, Aaron and Ainhoa Trejo,” the club said. “Peace to their souls and comfort for Lucas and all his loved ones.”

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Trejo’s family is among the victims of the earthquakes that devastated parts of Venezuela’s northern coast. Emergency crews remain in the region as recovery efforts continue.

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