Desperate Bid to Reach 43-Year-Old Trapped in Venezuelan Ruins

Rescue teams are engaged in a desperate, complex operation to extract a 43-year-old man who has been trapped for eight days beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings in Catia La Mar, Venezuela. The man, identified as security guard Hernan Gil, is buried under seven floors of debris in the booth where he worked when the powerful earthquakes struck. The rescue is complicated by the precarious state of surrounding buildings that lean against the structure where Gil is trapped.

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It is a very complex rescue. Several buildings are leaning against the house we are trying to get him out from.

Despite the challenges, rescue leaders have managed to provide Gil with water, and his wife, Gusbimar Gonzalez, expressed that his survival and the extensive aid efforts are a miracle. The operation is proceeding centimeter by centimeter as teams work to reach him. Meanwhile, the overall death toll from the earthquakes has surpassed 2,300, with tens of thousands still missing. The window for finding survivors is rapidly closing, and international rescue teams have only managed to save twelve people alive in the past six days.

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It is a miracle.

In the hard-hit city of La Guaira, many destroyed buildings are now marked with a 'D' for deceased, signifying that searches have yielded no signs of life. The Dutch rescue team has concluded its mission, citing the diminishing chances of finding survivors. The situation underscores the devastating impact of the earthquakes, which are the strongest to hit Venezuela in over a century, leaving a landscape of destruction and profound loss.

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I pray to God to give me strength. He is only two years old and I am not a mother.