Paola Ramos feared the worst.
“We thought yesterday she was dead,” Ramos said.
For nearly two days, Ramos didn’t know if her mother was alive. She said the building her mom was in collapsed after two earthquakes rocked Venezuela. On Friday, Ramos said firefighters pulled her mother, Carla Parra, out of the rubble.
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“It’s a miracle, really, it’s a miracle,” Ramos said. “I know she’s alive, but there’s a lot of emotion, I’m in shock.”
Government officials said the earthquakes killed more than 900 people and injured more than 3,000. Right now, there’s a desperate search for survivors.
NBC6 talked with Ramos, who lives in Miami. She was born in Venezuela and still has many family members there.
“Horrible, you are far away, you don’t know what to do, the airport was crushed so I can’t go there,” Ramos said. “The unknown is the most difficult part because I’m waiting constantly for a call. There was no signal, light, response, so some people told somebody, and they reached out. It was horrible.”
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The U.S. State Department is mobilizing more than $150 million in humanitarian aid. Florida Task Force One, based in Miami-Dade, will deploy its team to help with the search. Photos of the missing are spreading across social media and in chat groups.
Adriana Ward Medina said she’s searching for her father, stepmother and brother.
“I’m tired and it is like an excruciating pain not to know anything about your family for so long,” Medina said.
While Medina and so many others try to stay hopeful, Ramos has a message for them.
“Don’t lose hope, I thought my mom was dead because the building was on the floor and she was alive, so wait, pray for the best,” Ramos said.
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