Rescuers Find No Signs of Life for Fabio, the Boy Trapped Under Rubble in Venezuela for Nine Days

Rescue teams from Spain, Portugal, and Venezuela reported on Friday that they have not detected any signs of life from Fabio, the nine-year-old boy trapped under the debris of the Taihiti building in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, since the dual earthquake struck northern Venezuela on June 24.

"No signals have been found," the rescuers confirmed to the EFE news agency after a thorough inspection using drones, search dogs, sonar, and ground-penetrating radar throughout the morning in the twelve-story structure.

The building has developed new cracks and is considered to be in a very fragile state by the search teams, who warned that the structure is actively shifting, complicating any rescue efforts.

Despite the grim official report, Francisco Bastardo, the boy’s father, refuses to let go of hope.

"I haven't lost hope that my son will appear. As long as the government allows me, I will continue searching for my boy because I haven't seen a physical body, but I feel him in my heart and my body. Fabio is still alive because he responds to my calls," he told EFE.

Bastardo, a merchant marine, was navigating the Strait of Hormuz when the earthquakes occurred. He arrived in Venezuela on Sunday, June 29, and has been keeping vigil in front of the collapsed building where his son and the boy's mother, Kiriaki Navarro, went missing.

He recounted that he was on a video call with his family at the precise moment of the quake: it was Fabio himself who ran to warn his mother.

"The boy was the one who noticed it, my child has always been very intelligent. He ran to the living room and told his mom that it was going to shake," Bastardo narrated, adding, "The mom hugged him, and then the connection was lost."

The boy’s grandmother, Rebeca, claimed that last Sunday, Fabio responded to the family's calls with a whistle and that similar sounds, like banging, were heard coming from inside the building on Friday morning.

"They haven't been able to do anything in that building," the grandmother exclaimed in front of the rubble, as reported by Clarín newspaper, protesting that the authorities are preventing them from entering to search for their loved ones.

The search for Fabio follows the recent rescue of Hernán Gil, a 43-year-old Venezuelan security guard who survived eight days under the rubble of a building in the coastal community of Playa del Mar. This operation lasted over 72 hours with the participation of more than 100 international rescuers.

This successful rescue has reignited hope among families still waiting for news of their missing relatives, although experts caution that the likelihood of finding survivors diminishes with each passing hour.

The twin earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, are the most devastating recorded in Venezuela since 1900, resulting in an official death toll of 2,645 and 12,666 injuries, as confirmed by interim President Delcy Rodríguez.

The United Nations estimates that up to 68,000 people remain missing, a significantly higher figure than the data provided by Nicolás Maduro's regime.

Meanwhile, at least 20 Cubans remain unaccounted for, and eight have been confirmed dead in La Guaira state, concentrated in the areas of Caraballeda, Catia La Mar, and Los Corales.

Fabio's father continues his vigil in front of the Taihiti building while authorities assess whether to continue or permanently halt the search operations at the site.