Security guard rescued alive from ruins eight days after Venezuela earthquake

In a remarkable display of international cooperation and resilience, a security guard has been rescued alive from the ruins eight days after Venezuela was hit by powerful earthquakes. Hernan Gil was freed on Thursday, bringing cheers and embraces from hundreds of rescue workers representing seven different countries.

Gil had been trapped since the night of the earthquakes, buried under the debris of a seven-story building in the city of Catia La Mar where he worked. He was located in a small guardroom beneath the collapsed structure. Rescue teams from Chile, the United States, and Portugal, among others, had been working around the clock for over three days in a painstaking effort to reach him.

Late Wednesday, rescue teams were still one meter away from reaching the 43-year-old Venezuelan. The Chilean Fire Department shared a video on Instagram showing Gil looking into the camera from his confined space, his right eye bloodshot. His wife, Gusbimar Gonzalez, closely followed the rescue operation. "I am completely overwhelmed. This is the first time I have seen so many countries come together to save one person," she told AFP on Wednesday evening.

During the rescue, water and fresh air were successfully supplied to Gil. His rescue is one of the few positive stories emerging from the disaster. It follows the successful extraction of a three-year-old boy from the rubble earlier in the week. However, as time passes, hope dwindles for finding more survivors. The death toll from the twin earthquakes, which struck near the capital Caracas with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, was reported on Wednesday to be 2,295, with over 11,000 injured. These were the strongest earthquakes to hit Venezuela since 1900.

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I am completely overwhelmed. This is the first time I have seen so many countries come together to save one person.