Telling them to calm down, telling them that we are already helping them. That’s why you have to stay calm, because you are the support.
If you break, they will break even faster.”
Villarroel recalled participating in complex extractions under extreme physical constraints, including the recovery of a 22-year-old survivor named Gabriel who was protected by a pocket of space under collapsed debris.
“Please, don’t throw them away, take good care of them, because that is the only thing I am going to take from them,” Gabriel told her, referring to a watch, a necklace, and a wedding ring taken from his deceased family members.
Continuous exposure to hazardous environments and deceased victims created ongoing distress for rescue personnel. “That smell sticks to your uniform, to your gloves, to whatever you are wearing.
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I had to throw away clothes, wash and wash my uniform because I only had one. Afterwards everything smelled the same to me, even the towels,” Villarroel said.
Survivors Struggle with Loss and Displacement
The physical destruction forced hundreds of displaced residents into temporary shelters, including the Los Caracas Vacation City camp.
Survivors from collapsed apartment buildings in Tanaguarena described chaotic evacuations while adjacent structures collapsed around them during the primary tremors at 6:04 p.
m.
“It was really dreadful. You see these things in movies, but living through it is totally different.
It is horrible,” said Leismar Sojo, a manicurist and survivor who escaped from the 12th floor of the OPPE 25 building with her family.
