Miracle in Venezuela: Security guard rescued alive after 8 days under rubble; his own small cabin saved his life
A 43-year-old security guard was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed shopping center in Venezuela on Thursday (July 2), marking a rare moment
A 43-year-old security guard was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed shopping center in Venezuela on Thursday (July 2), marking a rare moment of hope eight days after twin earthquakes devastated the country and killed more than 2,200 people. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was rescued from the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal state of La Guaira after spending more than a week trapped beneath the debris. The dramatic rescue concluded a complex operation that lasted over 100 hours after emergency crews first established contact with him over the weekend. Rescuers overcome rain, aftershocks Rescue teams worked around the clock through torrential rain, repeated aftershocks and an unstable concrete structure to reach Gil Flores, who had been trapped since the earthquakes struck on June 24.
The operation involved specialists from Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador. As rescuers carried Gil Flores on a stretcher to an ambulance, emergency workers from multiple countries applauded and celebrated the successful operation. 'We were never going to leave him' Costa Rican Red Cross rescuer Minyar Collado said Gil Flores had feared he would not survive. "When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn't make it," Collado said. "But we were never going to leave him here." Survived inside security cabin Gil Flores, who worked as a night-shift security guard, was inside his small security cabin when the first powerful earthquake struck.
Although the surrounding building collapsed, the cabin remained largely intact, shielding him from falling debris and creating a pocket of air that helped keep him alive. Rescuers supplied him with water and liquid nutrients through a narrow shaft while tunneling toward him, allowing him to survive well beyond the typical 48- to 72-hour window during which earthquake survivors are most often found alive. Wife recalls 'ray of light' Gil Flores' wife, Gusbimar González, said she had nearly lost hope before learning rescuers had established contact with her husband. "When I learned he was alive, I saw a ray of light in the darkness," she said. The couple have two children, aged 8 and 10. International rescue effort A specialized Costa Rican Red Cross team first detected signs of life on Sunday using search equipment.
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