Venezuela quake survivor rescued after 8 days in rubble

Catia La Mar, Venezuela, July 2 (EFE).- Rescue teams pulled a man alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in northern Venezuela on Thursday after he spent eight days trapped following the powerful earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.

Hernán Gil was rescued after nearly 72 hours of continuous operations at the building in Catia La Mar, in La Guaira state, near Caracas. He was taken by ambulance to a private clinic in Caracas.

Gil had been trapped inside the basement security booth where he worked after the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes caused the building to collapse.

The rescue operation officially began at 10 a.m. local time (1400 GMT) on Monday. Since then, around 100 rescuers from Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica and El Salvador maintained constant communication with Gil, providing him with water and medication while working to reach him.

Rescuers first established contact with Gil on Sunday and remained in communication with him throughout the operation.

Gil had been trapped «in a security booth inside an underground passage, beneath 140 tons of rubble,» a spokesperson for the Costa Rican Red Cross said, explaining that rescuers had repeatedly adjusted their strategy while searching for a new access route.

According to volunteers from the Venezuelan Red Cross, the reinforced security booth acted as a protective shell, helping Gil survive the collapse.

His wife, Gusbimar González, had kept vigil outside the building since the day after the earthquakes.

Outside the building, firefighters, rescuers, and journalists applauded and embraced as Gil emerged from the rubble.

«Long live Venezuela,» a Chilean rescuer shouted as Gil was loaded into the ambulance.

Rescuers later gathered outside the heavily damaged building, posing with the flags of Venezuela, Chile, and Costa Rica as a symbol of international solidarity and cooperation.

Behind them, piles of rubble, exposed support columns and the building’s shattered interior underscored the scale of the destruction and the difficult conditions under which rescue teams had worked.

According to the United Nations, which is coordinating international rescue efforts, between 2,500 and 3,000 foreign rescue workers have arrived in Venezuela since the earthquakes.

Gil’s rescue was the 13th carried out by international rescue teams since they began operations a week ago, according to UN figures.

In its latest update on Wednesday, the Venezuelan government said at least 2,295 people had died and 11,267 had been injured in the twin earthquakes. EFE

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