5 Photos of Lucas Trejo's Wife, Yanina Maranella: Argentine Footballer's Family Found Dead After 74-Hour Earthquake Search

Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo's wife, Yanina Maranella, and their two children have been found dead in the ruins of a collapsed apartment block in Playa Grande, Venezuela, after a 74‑hour search following this week's twin earthquakes, according to his club and local media. The 38-year-old defender, who plays for Deportivo La Guaira, was in Caracas preparing for a league match when the building came down on Wednesday, cutting off all contact with his family.

After an anxious three-day hunt through the wreckage that had gripped fans in Venezuela and Argentina alike. The apartment block where Maranella was staying with the couple's children, Aaron and Ainhoa, collapsed when two powerful quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck the country in quick succession. As emergency services combed through destroyed neighbourhoods along the coast, Trejo's search for his family became one of the most closely followed stories of the disaster.

In the first hours after the earthquakes, Trejo turned to social media in a plea that sounded both practical and desperate. 'Our building in Playa Grande collapsed. I don't know anything about my family. Please pray for them and share this message in case someone saw them. I want to believe they weren't there,' he wrote on Instagram, asking followers to spread the word and help locate his wife and children.

Rescue teams continued to work through the rubble for more than three days, with local reports saying Trejo's relatives flew in from Argentina to help. According to Argentine media, his father and brother travelled to Venezuela and remained close to the search area while volunteers and professional responders tried to reach those trapped in the collapsed structure.

Late on Saturday, the search ended in the way many had feared. Media outlets in Venezuela reported that rescue workers had recovered the bodies of Maranella, Aaron and Ainhoa from the ruins of the Playa Grande building. There has been no indication that any family members survived, and no official account has suggested otherwise, so all current information about their deaths should still be treated with care until full reports are released.

Clubs Mourn Yanina Maranella And Children

Deportivo La Guaira, Trejo's current club, was the first to publicly confirm the tragedy. In a statement posted on social media, the team said: 'We join Lucas Trejo in mourning the tragic passing of his wife, Yanina Maranella, and his children, Aaron and Ainhoa Trejo. Peace to their souls and comfort for Lucas and all his loved ones.'

Another of his former teams, Marítimo de La Guaira, echoed that message, saying the bodies had been found after a 74-hour search effort. The club's words did not offer new detail about how the family were discovered, but they left little doubt that they had been in the building when it collapsed.

Fellow footballer Edson Tortolero, who joined the rescue efforts at the disaster site, also confirmed the family's deaths and used his social media channels to thank volunteers, fire crews and civil protection teams who had helped in the search. His posts have not been independently verified, but they have been widely cited in Venezuelan and Argentine coverage of the earthquake aftermath.

Just hours before the discovery, Trejo had shared a photograph of himself with Maranella and their children, a small act of hope that they might still be found alive. The image, which circulated quickly online, gave a face to a family whose fate had until then been one of the many unknowns in a country reeling from catastrophe.

A Family Life Cut Short By Venezuela Earthquakes

Trejo and Maranella had portrayed a close-knit family life in public posts earlier this year. In one birthday message to her husband, Yanina described the defender as the pillar of their home. 'It's a blessing for us as a family to have you and to move forward together in our shared purpose. With you, everything is always easier and more beautiful,' she wrote. That sentiment now reads almost unbearably tender, framed against the scale of the loss.

The earthquakes themselves were unusual not just for their strength but for coming as a rare 'twin' event. The quakes, recorded at magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, damaged infrastructure across several regions and triggered building collapses in coastal areas like Playa Grande.

According to the United Nations migration agency, as many as 6.76 million people may have been affected nationwide. Nearly 1,500 deaths have been reported so far, though rescue and recovery operations are still under way, and those figures may change as authorities reach more isolated communities.

In this wider disaster, Trejo's story is one among thousands, but it has resonated well beyond football circles. Fans, rival clubs and strangers have used social media to send condolences, many referencing Maranella by name as they tried to address not just the player, but the family he has lost.

The human cost of the Venezuela earthquakes has also reached into other sports. Former Major League Baseball player Gorkys Hernández confirmed that his wife, Deisy, had died in the disaster, another reminder that professional status or public fame offered no protection when buildings gave way.

The details about funeral arrangements for Maranella and the children have not been made public. Venezuelan and Argentine outlets have reported that Trejo remains with his relatives in the country, but nothing has been officially confirmed, and much of what happens next for the player and his shattered family life will unfold away from cameras and statements.