Rescuers in Venezuela have pulled a man from under the rubble of a collapsed nine-story building in a “miraculous” operation eight days after the country was hit by devastating twin earthquakes. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, a security guard in his 40s, was freed on Thursday after being buried under 29 feet of wreckage from a collapsed shopping mall parking lot in La Guaira.
Rescue Operation Details
The rescue involved a delicate, days-long effort by local and international teams. Chile’s fire brigade stated that it took 70 hours to extract Gil, who was found in “good condition” and transferred to a medical facility. Venezuelan Red Cross paramedic Luis Rodríguez, who assisted, told Reuters: “Fortunately, once we received Mr. Hernan in the ambulance, he was stable. During the whole ride he was conscious, focused and collaborating, and all of his vital signs were within normal.”
Family Reaction
Gil’s wife, Gusvimar Gonzales, told CNN moments before the successful rescue that she had experienced “days of great sorrow” following the earthquakes, thinking he might be dead. “But once I found out that he was alive I saw a ray of sunshine,” she said. “He was holding up like a hero.” She added that their children are waiting for him at home.
Communication and Sustenance
Video footage shows the moment rescuers first made visual contact with Gil via a search camera fed into the collapsed basement on Wednesday. His fingers could be seen waving through a small gap between layers of thick concrete and debris, as posted by the Chile Fire Department. Emergency crews said they had been communicating with Gil and giving him water, food and medication, with fluids passed to him via a hose and syringe. Another video posted on Thursday shows Gil’s head and shoulders half emerged from the rubble, wearing a mask and with a bloodshot eye.
Challenges and Expert Comment
The Chile Fire Department described the rescue operation as “highly complex” as the building remained unstable and teams had to contend with falling debris. Sebastián Mocorquer, from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team, told CNN that “only miraculous rescues have been achieved” seven days after an earthquake. The so-called “golden window” for finding survivors is usually a three-day period after which the chances of survival without a water source diminishes rapidly.
