After escaping a collapsed house, he went back to rescue his wife. They argued the whole time
Reporter Jonathan Vigliotti was left stunned as he captured this love story unfolding amidst a pile of destruction
“Stop bothering me!” A husband bickered with his wife in Spanish while digging her out of what used to be their house in an apartment complex in La Guaira. On June 24, 2026, when a twin earthquake hit Venezuela, thousands of people were stranded, but this woman was among the lucky ones. CBS reporter Jonathan Vigliotti (@jonathanvigliotti) visited the area and recorded them after noticing an unusual sound of a squabble erupting amidst the noisy ramble of devastation. In a July 2, 2026, Instagram reel, he reported a stunning contrast of love manifesting in the middle of a tempest of destruction. To an onlooker, their wrangle sounded like an argument, but as Vigliotti reflected, it was years of love materializing in a moment when his wife needed it the most.
'Did you see me?'
The incident happened when the husband succeeded in getting out of the rubble while his wife got trapped underneath. While she tried to get her out, they talked as if arguing over an everyday matter. The footage shared by Vigliotti shows the man shouting at his wife to cover up. "Did you see me?" He asks her. When she replies, "Yes," he yells, "Then you are not covering! Damn it, cover your face, Adriana!" Trapped under the shard of rubble, the wife seemed frightened that the stairs would collapse on her, while the husband toiled hard to keep her distracted from the terror. Digging through the rubble with his hands and a tiny hammer, he told her, “My love! I have got everything under control.”
Light through the cracks
Vigliotti said the husband successfully freed his wife to safety, but not everyone is as lucky as she. According to reports by UN News, at least 1,719 people have died following the earthquakes of 24 June, with some 5,000 more injured. Around 12,000 people have been displaced, and officials have yet to confirm a figure for the missing. La Guaira was one of the areas concentrated with casualties, around which 2,500 structures were damaged. The outlet states that the conditions remain hazardous, with 500 aftershocks recorded since the earthquakes.
Currently, more than 2,000 workers from 27 countries, plus over 160 search dogs, are deployed in rescue operations. Sebastián Mocorquer, from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team, told CNN that a “three-day period” is the “golden window” for finding survivors, after which the chances of survival are greatly reduced.
It was a dialogue of love
@jtsummer22 commented, “He protected her every second of that rescue, even pulling up her pants when they started to fall as she was getting out. Caballero!” @teufeleiny said, “This is marriage at its finest.” @courtneynowak expressed sadness and disappointment: “With all the resources this world has — a man is digging to save his wife with his bare hands. It’s just so sad.”
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