Venezuelan man rescued from rubble 8 days after deadly quakes: ‘truly a miracle’

In Venezuela, rescuers successfully pulled a 43-year-old man, Hernan Gil, alive from the rubble of a collapsed building eight days after deadly twin earthquakes. The rescue occurred on Thursday in Catia La Mar, a coastal area heavily impacted by the June 24 catastrophe. Gil, a security guard, was extracted from the ruins of a seven-story building where he worked. This remarkable survival, amidst a rising death toll nearing 2,300 and many still missing, was widely considered a miracle by those present. The operation to free Gil was described as painstaking.

A 43-year-old security guard, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, was rescued alive from the collapsed basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in Venezuela on Thursday, eight days after twin earthquakes struck on June 24. He was trapped in his intact security booth, which protected him from falling debris. Rescuers made contact with him over the weekend and provided water and liquid nutrients to sustain him. The rescue operation, which involved international teams, offered a rare moment of hope following the earthquakes that killed over 2,200 people and destroyed thousands of buildings. Other survivors, including a 2-year-old boy and a 9-month-old girl with her mother, were also pulled from the rubble in the days following the disaster.

A 43-year-old security guard, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, was rescued alive from a collapsed basement in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, eight days after being trapped by twin earthquakes. He was found in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center, where his security cabin provided a pocket of air. Rescuers, including international teams from Costa Rica, Chile, the United States, Portugal, and Mexico, worked for days under difficult conditions to reach him. Gil Flores had been trapped since June 24, and contact was first made over the weekend. His survival has become a symbol of hope following the devastating earthquakes that killed over 2,200 people and injured thousands more across northern Venezuela.

Four Venezuelan police officers have been arrested and are facing dismissal for allegedly looting cash from earthquake rubble in La Guaira state. This incident occurred amidst ongoing search and rescue efforts following devastating twin earthquakes that have killed nearly 2,000 people and injured over 10,000. Videos on social media reportedly showed officers taking money from a safe in a collapsed building. The Scientific, Penal and Criminalistic Investigation Service Corps (CICPC) confirmed the arrests and stated disciplinary action for dismissal has begun, condemning the officers' actions as reprehensible and damaging to the institution's prestige. Public anger is growing over the slow pace of government rescue efforts and reports of misconduct by some authorities, while volunteers continue to search for survivors.