Miracle rescue: Man pulled alive from Venezuela rubble after 8 days (Video)

A 43-year-old security guard has been rescued alive after spending eight days trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed shopping centre in Venezuela, in what rescuers described as a remarkable survival story amid the country’s devastating earthquake disaster. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was pulled to safety on Thursday after an intensive international rescue operation at the collapsed Galerías Playa Grande shopping centre in La Guaira, where he had been trapped since twin earthquakes struck on June 24. Rescuers from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the United States, Portugal and Mexico spent more than 100 hours tunnelling through unstable debris, battling aftershocks and heavy rain to reach him. After making contact with Gil Flores over the weekend, they kept him alive by supplying water and liquid nutrients through a narrow tube while digging two access tunnels due to the unstable structure. Gil Flores survived because his security booth remained largely intact when the building collapsed, creating a small air pocket that protected him from the falling debris. As rescuers carried him out on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask, emergency crews and onlookers erupted in cheers. He was immediately taken by ambulance for medical treatment. The rescue has become a symbol of hope following the twin earthquakes, which have killed more than 2,200 people and injured over 11,000 across northern Venezuela. (NewsWire)

After an extraordinary international rescue effort, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores has been pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed shopping centre in Venezuela, where he had been trapped for more than a week following the devastating earthquakes. Rescue teams dug through unstable… pic.twitter.com/ndqklY7DqH — NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) July 2, 2026