Home / Disasters and Accidents / Earthquake Birth: Baby Arrives Amidst Venezuelan Quake Chaos
Earthquake Birth: Baby Arrives Amidst Venezuelan Quake Chaos
8 Jul
Summary
- Baby born on a baseball field during violent earthquake aftershocks.
- A paramedic delivered the baby with no medical supplies.
- The birth occurred amidst news of nearly 3,700 earthquake deaths.
On the afternoon of June 24, twin earthquakes violently shook Venezuela's coast, causing widespread destruction in La Guaira. Amidst the chaos and collapsing buildings, 19-year-old Eliana Garcia, 38 weeks pregnant, went into labor.
She gave birth on a baseball field early on June 25. A paramedic, having found her after frantic searches, delivered the baby boy using only hand sanitizer for hygiene and cell phone lights for illumination.
Family members improvised to tie and cut the umbilical cord with hair bands and nail scissors. The mother and newborn were later taken to a public hospital, which was overwhelmed with earthquake victims.
The earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, have resulted in nearly 3,700 deaths and thousands missing. The family also suffered immense loss, with two nieces killed in a collapsed apartment building, and the baby's maternal aunt and a nephew still missing.
