An 18-day-old baby and his mother have been rescued after being trapped beneath their collapsed apartment building following two devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.
The disaster has claimed at least 1,450 lives, with tens of thousands still missing.
Amid the tragedy, a viral video showed rescuers pulling the newborn from the rubble.
Speaking from a Caracas hospital bed, the mother, Dayana Patino, said her newborn son, Juan David, gave her the determination to survive during the terrifying hours underground.
She said her baby kept her focused and alert, adding that as long as he was alive, she knew she had to keep fighting. Throughout the ordeal, she repeatedly checked his nose to make sure he was still breathing.
The nightmare began while Patino was washing dishes in her eighth-floor apartment in the coastal region of La Guaira. When the ground shook, she rushed to pick up her son, expecting a minor tremor. Instead, the building collapsed.
"I felt like I was flying. After that, I felt like I was sinking in water and dirt, and then I fell into the pit where I remained. I don't know how I didn't let go of my baby because I was flying. I got crushed against furniture," she said.
Trapped beneath concrete with her leg pinned, Patino remained calm. After screaming without getting help, she decided to conserve her voice until she heard rescuers nearby. She also found comfort after discovering a Bible beneath her in the rubble and kept her eyes fixed on a tiny beam of light filtering through the debris.
Their rescue came after Patino heard her brother calling her name. Summoning her remaining strength, she shouted back to reveal their location.
"I said to myself, this is my only chance. From the top of my lungs, I cried out... I screamed, 'Here I am,' with all my might, and he said, 'I found you, and I promise you that I won't leave until I get you out,'" she recalled.
Her brother led emergency teams to free them. Patino suffered leg injuries, while her baby escaped with only minor scratches.
In the viral video, Patino's husband, Gerson, is seen anxiously watching the search. He had just parked his car outside when the earthquake struck and managed to jump to safety. Seeing the building reduced to rubble, he feared his family had died. Describing their survival as a miracle, he said they lost their home, belongings, and their pet dog.
"It was indescribable. I thought they were dead. And when I saw my son, I felt like I was born again. I couldn't believe it... I felt life come back to me," he said.