Who was Andrea Bello? Wife of soccer player Héctor Bello died shielding baby during Venezuela earthquake tragedy

Andrea Bello ’s final act saved her one-year-old daughter but cost her own life. The wife of Venezuelan soccer player Héctor Bello died when powerful back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, causing their home to collapse. Their daughter, Alana, survived because Andrea shielded her during the disaster. Héctor later shared an emotional tribute on Instagram, calling his wife a hero and promising their daughter would always know the sacrifice her mother made. According to PEOPLE, the tragedy happened during Venezuela’s deadliest earthquake disaster in more than a century.

Héctor Bello calls wife Andrea Bello a hero after she saved their daughter during Venezuela earthquake
Héctor Bello, who plays for Marítimo de La Guaira, shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram two days after the earthquakes.

He wrote, “You’ll always be our favorite hero, Mommy. I’m going to make sure our baby remembers how wonderful you were, how much you loved her. I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, how you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who, even with your last breaths, never abandoned her.”

The Venezuelan soccer media group Cumaná de Campeones later confirmed that Andrea was found dead beneath the rubble of the family’s collapsed building. The organization also said baby Alana survived the collapse.

In another emotional post, Héctor spoke directly to his daughter. He wrote, “My daughter… I need you to be strong. Just wait a little longer. I need you to be the one to heal my heart, which is in pieces.”