Italian family missing after Caracas quake, with tragic echoes of 1980 Irpinia disaster

The missing family

Enzo Cuomo (63), wife Trini Adrian (53) and daughter Isabella (22) are among those missing after the Petunia residential building collapsed in the Los Palos Grandes district of Caracas during the powerful earthquake that struck Venezuela three days ago. They were at home when the building, already damaged by a previous earthquake in 1967, gave way. The only family member not in the building was their son, Carlo Francesco (also known as Carlos Francisco), who had returned to Italy five years ago for a bone marrow transplant at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.

A tragic historical echo

The story is particularly painful because of the family’s past. The maternal grandparents of Enzo Cuomo, Filomena Piserchia and Gerardo Nicola Cicoria, died in the 1980 Irpinia earthquake in Italy. They were killed when their home in Laviano collapsed during that disaster, which killed 303 people in the small Campanian town and destroyed 98% of its buildings. For the community of Laviano, where the Cuomo family still has relatives, the news from Venezuela reopens old wounds.

These are hours of anxiety for our community, waiting for news about the fate of the Cuomo family. The whole town follows the situation with great apprehension and hopes that positive news can come soon.

Conflicting reports on their fate

While most sources, including ANSA and other Italian outlets, still list the three as missing pending official confirmation, a later report by Rai news states that Enzo Cuomo, his wife and daughter are among the 35 confirmed victims of the building collapse. This discrepancy reflects the fast-moving and often contradictory flow of information from the disaster zone. Rescue operations continue, with recent dramatic saves of an 11-year-old boy and an 18-day-old baby offering some hope.

The broader disaster in Venezuela

The earthquake, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, has caused widespread devastation. As of now, the Venezuelan authorities report almost 1,500 dead, over 3,000 injured, and as many as 50,000 people missing across the country. The Petunia building, designed to withstand tremors after a 1967 earthquake, was severely damaged before the latest quake, and its collapse has become a symbol of the disaster’s toll on the Italian diaspora in Caracas.

The son’s appeal and the community’s anguish

Carlo Francesco Cuomo, who is being treated in Milan, has appealed to rescuers not to give up the search for his parents and sister. He reportedly traveled to Caracas on 28 June to be near the site. In Laviano, population about 1,200, the local association "Laviano nel Cuore" posted a message calling for solidarity and prayer, and the entire town is waiting anxiously for news.