A mother and her 18-day-old baby have been pulled alive from the rubble of their collapsed apartment building in Venezuela, following the devastating twin earthquakes that struck the country on Wednesday, killing at least 1,450 people.

Dayana Patino, speaking to the BBC from a clinic in Caracas, described the terrifying hours she spent trapped under concrete, holding her son Juan David close. She was doing the dishes in her eighth-floor apartment in La Guaira when the quake hit, and instantly rushed to cradle her baby.

"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," she said. Her left leg was trapped under concrete, and her temple pressed against a rock.

Patino said she conserved her energy, screaming only when she heard voices. Her rescue came when her brother called her name. "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," she recalled.

Her husband Gerson, who had just returned home and parked the car, managed to jump over a fence to safety. When he saw the destroyed building, he feared the worst. "I thought they were dead. And when I saw my son I felt like I was born again," he told the BBC.

The baby sustained only minor injuries, while the mother suffered injuries to both legs. Their home and all possessions were destroyed, and their pet dog remains missing. The couple says they will rebuild from scratch.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk