Man rescued alive after eight days beneath Venezuela earthquake rubble

Rescue teams have pulled a man alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela after he spent eight days trapped following the twin earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, 2026.

The survivor, identified as Hernán Gil, was rescued more than 100 hours after emergency workers first detected signs of life beneath an estimated 140 tonnes of debris. Gil had been trapped in the wreckage of a building near the Galerías Playa Grande shopping mall in Catia La Mar.

The twin earthquakes have so far claimed nearly 2,300 lives, while tens of thousands of people remain missing, according to official figures.

Allan Madrigal, a paramedic with the Costa Rican Red Cross who first heard Gil’s faint cries for help on Sunday, described the rescue as an emotional experience.

“I thought I might be imagining it,” Madrigal told reporters, adding that he asked a colleague to confirm they had also heard the voice before rescue efforts intensified.

Gil was working as a security guard inside a small concrete booth in the basement parking area when the earthquakes struck. Rescuers believe the booth acted as a protective shell, shielding him from the massive amount of debris that collapsed around him.

Emergency crews supplied Gil with water and connected him to an intravenous drip while carefully working to free him. Rescue teams from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States participated in the complex operation.

The effort faced repeated setbacks as access tunnels dug through the rubble collapsed several times, posing risks to both rescuers and the trapped survivor.

During the overnight operation, teams succeeded in establishing visual contact with Gil using a small camera inserted through the debris. Video footage showed him wearing a face mask, which rescuers had earlier provided to protect him from dust, while firefighters instructed him to wear protective goggles as excavation continued.

A Chilean firefighter involved in the mission described the operation as the most technically difficult rescue he had ever undertaken.

Mexican Red Cross rescuer Marco Antonio Franco said Gil remained remarkably positive throughout the ordeal. According to Franco, the survivor maintained conversations with rescue workers, spoke about his family and even requested hydration drinks in his preferred flavours.

“He kept encouraging us to continue,” Franco said, adding that Gil recognised returning team members and thanked them for coming back to help him.

Shortly before the rescue was completed, another Costa Rican Red Cross worker said Gil appeared to have escaped without serious crush injuries.

Following the successful rescue, Madrigal said the mission, his first international deployment, had profoundly changed him.