Venezuela: Man rescued from the rubble eight days after earthquakes

A 43-year-old man was rescued on Thursday after surviving eight days trapped under the rubble of a building in Venezuela, where he was on June 24 when two earthquakes struck the country, AFP journalists reported.

Following a dramatic rescue operation launched on Monday by teams from several countries, Hernán Gil was brought to the surface amid hugs and applause from rescuers in Catia La Mar, in the state of La Guaira. He was carried out on a stretcher and transferred to an ambulance taking him to Caracas, 25 miles away.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes, which occurred less than a minute apart, have so far left some 2,300 dead and thousands missing.

Teams from the United States, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Portugal, Mexico, Chile and Venezuela dug for more than three days to free him, while providing him with water and air through probes and a hose.

In the final phase of the operation, about 30 people worked tirelessly in the building’s parking lot to clear the rubble, while two rescuers dug a 10-foot-long tunnel.

Gusbimar González, Gil’s wife, followed the rescue operation closely. “He didn’t hit his head; he has no injuries. He managed to hide under a table and a chair,” she said shortly before he was brought out.

It was on Sunday that rescuers learned there was a man still alive amid the rubble of the partially destroyed seven-story building.