A 43-year-old security guard, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, was rescued from a collapsed building in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, after being trapped for 8 days. The rescue operation was a joint effort by teams from the Costa Rican Red Cross, Chilean firefighters, and other countries.

Rescue Operation

The operation was considered a small miracle, as Gil Flores was sustained with food and water while rescuers excavated the concrete to reach him. A specialized team from the Costa Rican Red Cross first detected signs of life and established contact with him on Sunday.

Gil Flores worked as a night-shift security guard at the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center, and was inside his small security cabin when the first violent tremor struck. While the surrounding concrete structure collapsed around him, his workstation cabin held ground, shielding him from crushing debris and creating a vital pocket of air.

Rescuers navigated a highly unstable structure, torrential rain, and persistent aftershocks to tunnel down to the survivor. They used a telescopic camera to help maintain constant contact with Gil Flores, passing water and liquid nutrients through a narrow shaft to keep him hydrated during the final three days of the extraction.

Aftermath

The collapse of the building was triggered by two back-to-back earthquakes on June 24 that registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively. The shallow, violent tremors damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings across northern Venezuela, killing more than 2,200 people, injuring over 11,000, and leaving La Guaira state as the hardest-hit region in the country.

Original reporting: WTVQ (Lexington) — read the source article.