00:00Welcome back. The state of La Huayra was the area most affected by the earthquake that occurred on June 24.
00:06Maura and Lionel lived in Katia Lamar. Let's hear their story.
00:12A lawyer by profession, Maura Gonzalez lived in Katia Lamar.
00:16On the afternoon of the earthquake, she was on the phone.
00:24Suddenly, I heard a sound on the phone that sounded like an alarm, and I didn't know what it was.
00:29But the next second, the building shook violently.
00:34I tried to go downstairs and get out, but it was so strong, so strong, that the door pinned me
00:40down and knocked me over, and it wouldn't let me out.
00:48Everything in the house started exploding. Everything was exploding, and a force, like a wave of energy, swept me from
00:55the door to the center of my living room and knocked me down.
00:57In a second, I was trapped.
01:04Everything was dark, and I was buried under all the rubble.
01:10I called for help. I could hear the siren passing by.
01:15But in the midst of it all, I didn't understand what had happened to me, the gravity of where I
01:21was.
01:22She spent 20 hours trapped under the rubble.
01:28I was suffocating, but suddenly something like a breeze came in, a gust of air, and it blew over me,
01:33and I could breathe.
01:37I don't know where it was coming from because I was in a sort of box, like a concrete coffin.
01:44I found out yesterday that one of the rescuers, a doctor, came, because there were some doctors who rescued me
01:49along with another civil defense worker who was in the military,
01:52and he told me it took them five hours to reach where I was because there was so much debris
01:57on top of me.
01:59Her husband, Lionel Echeverria, a musician by profession, was getting ready to perform at a local hotel when he was
02:06caught off guard by the double earthquake.
02:08When I got to the house to look for her, I couldn't see the building anymore. It was already on
02:13the ground.
02:14I was screaming. They had to hold me back because I was having a panic attack.
02:21Both Maura and Lionel feel that life has given them a second chance.
02:27A great second chance, and I have a life's mission. God will reveal it to me in time.
02:34Because when I asked him to take me or leave me if I had a life's mission, he let me
02:39live.
02:39I was told to listen to myself. I was practically crushed.
02:45It's hard to start over at a certain age. It's not easy. But thank God, above all, that we're alive
02:52and have a new chance to move forward.
02:56They rescued her from there.
02:58He's a follower of Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez and Mother Carmen Rendils.
03:07I have the Blessed One here with me, and Dr. Gregorio Hernandez is with her to help me with my
03:12health.
03:15They're helping me get through this because it's not easy. It's not easy. It's not easy.
03:24In the early morning, I cry. I lost neighbors and friends who were like family.
03:30There's no way to describe what happened. In a matter of seconds, your life changes in a matter of seconds.
03:38They are grateful for the medical care they received.
03:45And treated her very well at the Katia Lamar emergency room.
03:52They were trying to transfer her because she was in pretty bad shape, so we brought her here.
03:57The care has been excellent. The doctors are extraordinary. The nurses, the whole hospital.
04:04I thank God, them, the hospital, the doctors, the people, the Venezuelan people who have supported us.
04:15This community has come together. We haven't lacked food, clothing, hygiene supplies, or medicine.
04:24We haven't lacked anything because people have come and taken care of everything for all of us.
04:33Maura remains hospitalized in room 19 at the Jose Maria Vargas Hospital,
04:37which is celebrating its 135th anniversary and is one of the health care centers
04:42that had to take on part of the emergency response caused by the double earthquake.
04:46Filmed by Jesus Romero and Jarlene Rosales.
04:49Filmed by Jesus Romero and Jarlene Rosales.
04:49Pillos are still there.
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