Venezuela: The Dog Who Found a Man Alive in the Rubble 8 Days After Devastating Earthquake

A rescue dog named Halley, belonging to the Mexican Red Cross, has emerged as a hero in earthquake-stricken Venezuela. Halley successfully located a man, Hernán Gil Flores, who had been trapped for eight days beneath the rubble of a collapsed building.

The 43-year-old survivor was extricated from the basement of a commercial center following an exhaustive operation that began when Halley, a member of an internationally certified team, detected a sign of life deep within the destroyed concrete structure. Halley's handler, Gonzalo Granados, immediately alerted specialized urban search and rescue teams.

International rescuers noted that Halley's acute sense of smell signaled the start of one of the most complex and hopeful operations in the entire emergency zone. Locating Gil Flores was merely the first step in an extremely difficult three-day extrication process. Due to the extreme risk of further collapse from the large concrete sections, international teams from Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Portugal, El Salvador, and the United States worked around the clock to create a safe tunnel to reach him.

They inserted a narrow pipe to provide a continuous oxygen supply and passed a flexible tube to ensure he had fresh drinking water. A telescopic camera was lowered to maintain visual contact and communication. When engineers and emergency personnel finally cleared the last layer of debris, cheers and tears erupted as the dust-covered Gil Flores was pulled out alive. Medical personnel confirmed that despite spending over 190 hours trapped, he sustained only minor injuries.

Mexico's canine units have built a strong global reputation for their response to earthquakes, a tradition dating back to the major earthquakes in Mexico City in 1985. Halley is part of a Mexican contingent deployed to Venezuela, arriving with other notable Red Cross dogs, including Kenai, Orly, and Balam. The latter two are descendants of Athos, a legendary Mexican rescue dog who served in global disaster zones before his death in 2021.