The Venezuelan volleyball community is anxiously awaiting news of national team captain Willner Rivas, who remains missing alongside his wife and child following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country on Wednesday.
Outside hitter who spent last season with France’s Narbonne Volley and had already agreed to join Spain’s Club Voleibol Guaguas for the 2026/27 campaign, he was reportedly in La Guaira with his family when the disaster occurred.
According to initial reports, the building where the 29-year-old player lived collapsed completely during the powerful earthquakes. Since then, no contact has been established with him or any members of his family.
The twin earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, have claimed at least 188 lives and injured more than 1,500 people, while rescue teams continue searching through heavily damaged areas in Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira, one of the regions worst affected by the disaster.
The collapse of residential buildings, widespread infrastructure damage and a near-total communications blackout have severely hampered rescue efforts and the process of accounting for missing residents.
Family members, friends and teammates reportedly began trying to reach Rivas shortly after the first tremors were felt, but telephone networks had already gone down across much of the affected area.
As hours turned into days without any news, concern has continued to grow within the Venezuelan Volleyball Federation, among his national teammates and throughout the country’s volleyball community.
Players from different clubs and athletes from several sports, particularly in Barquisimeto and other regions of Venezuela, have taken to social media to share appeals and messages in the hope that information about Rivas and his family may emerge. Rescue operations remain ongoing as authorities work to locate survivors trapped beneath the rubble.