Against all odds, rescuers pulled a man alive from the ruins of a collapsed building after eight days underground, ending one of the most difficult rescue operations following Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes.
A man has been rescued alive after spending eight days trapped beneath the rubble of a building that collapsed during the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June.
Hernán Gil was pulled to safety after emergency teams spent days working through nearly 140 tonnes of debris to reach him.
His rescue came more than 100 hours after crews first detected signs that he was still alive beneath the collapsed structure.
The operation involved rescue teams from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States, who worked around the clock despite repeated setbacks.
Several of the narrow access tunnels built to reach Gil collapsed during the rescue, making the operation extremely dangerous for both rescuers and the survivor.
A Chilean firefighter described the mission as one of the toughest of his career.
“Without doubt the most complex and technically difficult which I’ve had to tackle,” he said.
Rescuers eventually managed to establish visual contact with Gil using a small camera lowered through the rubble.
Video released from the scene showed Gil wearing a face mask that rescue workers had earlier passed down to protect him from dust created during the operation.
One firefighter asked him to turn toward the camera and later instructed him to wear protective goggles as crews carefully removed debris around him.
Despite spending more than a week trapped underground, officials said Gil remained remarkably stable.
Ricardo Arias of the Costa Rican Red Cross said rescue teams had been able to provide him with water and connect him to an intravenous drip while preparing for the final extraction.
“He has told us that he does not even have a crushed nail,” Arias said.
“He is fine.”
Members of the rescue teams said Gil remained positive throughout the ordeal.
Marco Antonio Franco of the Mexican Red Cross described him as “a cheerful man” who continued talking with rescuers during the long operation.
“He even asked for hydration drinks of specific flavours he likes,” Franco said.
“Of course we indulged him.”
According to Franco, Gil kept encouraging the rescue workers despite his situation.
“He himself drives us on, telling us to carry on. He recognises our team members, saying, ‘how nice that you came back and that you’re with me again’.”
The conversations between Gil and the rescue teams often centred on his family and the difficult effort to bring him out safely.
Officials believe Gil survived because he had been working inside a small concrete security booth in the basement parking area next to the Galerias Playa Grande shopping mall when the twin earthquakes struck.
The structure appears to have acted as a protective shell, shielding him from the massive weight of the collapsed building above.
His rescue offers a rare moment of hope following one of Venezuela’s deadliest natural disasters in recent years.
Authorities say nearly 2,300 people have been confirmed dead since the earthquakes struck, while tens of thousands of people are still missing as search and rescue operations continue across the affected areas.
