Rescuers Pull Venezuelan Man Alive From Rubble Eight Days After Earthquakes

Rescue teams from seven countries pulled a 43-year-old security guard from the rubble of a collapsed seven-storey building in Catia La Mar on Thursday. The man, identified as Hernan Gil, had been trapped for eight days following twin earthquakes on June 24.

Teams worked around the clock for three days to reach him. They supplied more than 10 litres of water through a hose and installed an oxygen tube during the operation. Hundreds of rescuers cheered when Gil was brought out on a stretcher. The official death toll from the earthquakes is nearing 2,300, with many people still missing.

Teams from Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico participated in the extraction. Gil’s wife, Gusbimar Gonzalez, was present among the rescuers. “This is truly a miracle,” Gusbimar Gonzalez said. The building where Gil worked was located in a coastal area that was almost entirely destroyed in the June 24 earthquakes.