SoCal dad killed in massive Venezuela earthquake when hotel collapsed on him

The family of a Southern California man is reeling from a devastating loss after he was killed in the deadly Venezuela earthquake last week.

Romildo Batista de Lima was on vacation with his wife, Carlha Nacarid, when the tremor struck the Latin American country. As the quake hit, a hotel wall where they were staying collapsed on the couple.

The duo were rushed to the hospital, according to a GoFundMe set up by the man’s son, where de Lima died from his injuries. Nacarid survived with severe injuries, including a broken leg and hip.

“My priority right now is to get his body from Venezuela to Brazil. That’s where he wanted to be buried,” Daniel de Lima told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “Trying to coordinate that with my Brazilian side of the family that’s over there. And at this moment he’s en route to Brazil where he wants to be laid to rest.”

A magnitude-7.2 quake struck roughly 100 miles west of Caracas near San Felipe at 6 p.m. last Wednesday, followed just 39 seconds later by an even bigger 7.5-magnitude temblor hitting the town of Yumare about 27 miles away, according to the US Geological Survey. 

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