Rescue workers on Thursday pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from the basement of a collapsed shopping centre in Venezuela, eight days after powerful twin earthquakes devastated parts of the country, reports AP.
Hernán Alberto Gil Flores had been trapped beneath the rubble of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping centre in the coastal state of La Guaira since the earthquakes struck on June 24. Rescue teams first established contact with him several days after the disaster.
Gil Flores was carried from the wreckage on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask before being taken by ambulance to receive medical treatment, as rescuers from several countries celebrated the successful operation.
The dramatic rescue offered a rare moment of hope after the twin earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, killed more than 2,200 people, injured over 11,000 and caused widespread destruction across northern Venezuela.
According to rescuers, Gil Flores survived because he was inside a small security booth in the building's basement when the earthquakes struck.
Although the surrounding structure collapsed, the booth remained largely intact, creating an air pocket that protected him from the falling debris.
International rescue teams managed to keep him alive by supplying water and liquid nutrients through a narrow opening while carefully removing concrete and debris from the unstable structure.
Minyar Collado of the Costa Rican Red Cross said Gil Flores initially asked rescuers not to inform his wife that he had been found alive until they were certain they could save him.
His wife, Gusbimar González, said learning that rescuers had made contact with her husband after days of uncertainty renewed her hope. The couple have two children.
The rescue operation was led by Chilean urban search and rescue firefighters, with assistance from teams from the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Venezuela. Crews worked around the clock despite aftershocks, heavy rain and the risk of further collapse.
Rescuers also used a telescopic camera to maintain contact with Gil Flores throughout the operation, while Chilean firefighter María Paz Campos provided reassurance and instructions during the final stages of the rescue.
La Guaira was among the areas worst affected by the devastating earthquakes, which destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of buildings across northern Venezuela.
MSH
