Rescuers free Venezuelan security guard eight days after twin earthquakes

Eight days after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela's northern coast, international rescue teams succeeded in pulling a survivor alive from the rubble of a collapsed building. The 43-year-old security guard, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, was rescued on Thursday in Catia La Mar, in La Guaira state, from the basement of a multi-story building or shopping center where he had worked before the disaster struck.

The two earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, hit in quick succession on June 24 and devastated large parts of the coastal region. Numerous buildings collapsed, including the structure under which Gil became trapped. According to official figures, the disaster has so far claimed between approximately 2,295 and nearly 2,300 lives, with more than 11,000 people injured. Many others remain missing.

The rescue operation for Gil was considered exceptionally difficult from the outset. Rescue teams first made contact with him over the preceding weekend and were able to pass him water and liquid nutrients through a narrow shaft to keep him alive while the extraction effort continued. The operation stretched more than 100 hours after that initial contact, as rescuers had to work through roughly 140 tonnes of rubble to reach him.

Teams from several countries took part in the rescue, including El Salvador, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica and Venezuela itself. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said the operation's success was due to the joint efforts of these international rescue teams. The Costa Rican Red Cross, which also participated in the operation, confirmed the successful rescue.

When Gil was finally carried out on a stretcher in the early hours of Thursday, the assembled rescuers erupted in cheers, embracing and applauding one another. Eyewitnesses and international journalists described the scene as an emotional moment amid an otherwise devastating week. Gil was then placed in a waiting ambulance and taken away for medical treatment.

The rescue adds to a series of other notable survivals following the earthquakes. Shortly after the disaster, a mother and her 18-month-old baby were rescued alive roughly 32 hours after the quakes, with the mother sustaining leg injuries while her child escaped with only minor injuries. A three-year-old child was also found and rescued alive after six days trapped under rubble.

The overall death toll and the number of people still missing indicate that the earthquakes rank among the most severe natural disasters in Venezuela's recent history. Rescue operations continue in several affected areas as authorities and international aid organizations work to assess the full scope of the damage and search for additional possible survivors.

It remains unclear how many people are still missing beneath the rubble and how long the rescue and clean-up operations will ultimately take. The long-term reconstruction of the affected coastal region, including care for the injured and displaced, is likely to occupy Venezuelan authorities and their international partners for weeks or months to come.