Security guard pulled alive from rubble 8 days after deadly Venezuela quakes
Rescuers freed Hernan Gil, 43, from his collapsed guard booth in Catia La Mar on Thursday, eight days after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela's northern coast, killing over 2,295 people.
The improbable rescue
Hernan Gil, a 43-year-old security guard, was extracted alive from the rubble of a seven-storey building in Catia La Mar on 2 July, eight days after the double earthquake that struck on 24 June. He had been trapped inside his guard booth beneath the collapsed structure. Rescuers from seven countries worked for three days to reach him, drilling through concrete and reinforcing unstable sections to prevent further collapse.
An initial plan to dig a 60 cm by 60 cm tunnel was abandoned on Tuesday after the building shifted. Teams then advanced simultaneously along two separate routes. In the final phase, around thirty people worked in the underground parking area while two rescuers dug a three-metre tunnel, using a jackhammer to break through the last slab after warning of the risk of a neighbouring building collapsing. Gil was brought out on a stretcher just before 11:30 GMT and transported by ambulance to Caracas.
- Twin earthquakes strike Venezuela’s La Guaira state; Hernan Gil is trapped inside his guard booth in Catia La Mar.
- Passers-by hear Gil’s cries from the rubble, alerting rescuers.
- Rescuers begin a three-day extraction effort; an initial tunnel plan is abandoned after the building shifts.
- Teams advance via two simultaneous routes and close to within one metre of Gil.
- Gil is extracted alive, placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to Caracas.
It’s really a miracle. I’m completely amazed, because this is the first time I see so many countries come together to save a single person.
I’ve never seen anything so difficult. I don’t know if there has ever been such a long rescue with these characteristics.
A catastrophe of staggering scale
The official death toll from the twin earthquakes was revised upward to 2,295, with more than 11,000 injured, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez. The UN estimates that 50,000 people remain missing. The hardest-hit state, La Guaira, saw dozens of buildings marked with a spray-painted letter D, the international search-and-rescue code for deceased, extinguishing hopes of finding survivors inside.
Satellite imagery analysed by NASA suggests approximately 58,870 buildings were damaged or destroyed. The World Health Organization fears disease outbreaks, while the UN refugee agency reports widespread food shortages, collapsed basic services and largely severed communications in La Guaira.
It’s a structure whose access is particularly complicated.
A nation in mourning, a state in chaos
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of national mourning "in homage to the memory of the victims." But the disaster zone has descended into disorder. Four Venezuelan police officers were arrested for looting, according to the justice ministry. Survivors complain that soldiers were taking aid for themselves before distributing leftovers. The government restricted access to La Guaira, requiring volunteers to obtain passes.
The worst are the dead. I ask you to tell the truth!
At first, everything was going well, but then the bad organization began: first the soldiers themselves helped themselves, and then you ended up with what was left.
International search and rescue coordination
Rescue teams from Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico worked side by side to free Gil. Chilean firefighters posted a video on Instagram showing him inside the booth, turning his head toward the camera with a bloodshot right eye. A Spanish USAR 13 member, Luis Arteaga Benatuil, acknowledged the difficulties of reaching the area but stressed that their goal remained saving lives.
It has been extremely difficult to reach Venezuelan territory. We arrive late, but our objective remains to save lives.
