Brothers Winder and Deivi Delfín, who had already fled Venezuela following a devastating earthquake, found themselves caught in another deadly disaster in Cali, Colombia. The initial earthquake in Venezuela occurred at the end of June, when magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors struck within 39 seconds of each other.
As they were returning home on the evening of June 24, the earthquakes hit. The brothers, Winder and Deivi, hugged and closed their eyes, only to reopen them to a scene of dust and debris. Upon reaching their home, they discovered that their 12-story apartment building had collapsed, trapping their mother, Yusmani, grandmother, Carmen, and 10-year-old brother, Moissés, under a pile of concrete. Winder described the moment as "my world came crashing down."
The Venezuelan government reported that the earthquakes killed more than 6,300 people, with no clear official figure for the number of missing individuals.
For three days following the collapse, Winder and Deivi slept and ate at the disaster site, participating in rescue efforts. Their father, Deivid, who was in Colombia at the time, was unable to locate them for three days after returning to Venezuela. After eventually finding his sons, the family embarked on a search for their missing relatives that continued for nearly a month.
Subsequently, the family relocated to Colombia, seeking safety. However, tragedy struck again when a disaster occurred in Cali. Images show rescue workers pulling a woman from rubble in Colombia and the wreckage of crumbled apartment blocks.
