Venezuelan security guard pulled alive from earthquake basement rubble after 8 days

By — Fernanda Pesce, Associated Press Fernanda Pesce, Associated Press By — Juan Pablo Arraez, Associated Press Juan Pablo Arraez, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/venezuelan-security-guard-pulled-alive-from-earthquake-basement-rubble-after-8-days Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Venezuelan security guard pulled alive from earthquake basement rubble after 8 days World Jul 2, 2026 11:10 AM EDT CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela (AP) — Rescuers pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from a collapsed basement early Thursday, ending a grueling days-long operation that became a symbol of hope after the devastation of twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela eight days earlier. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was extracted safely after being trapped since June 24 under the rubble in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal town in La Guaira. Rescuers initially made contact with him over the weekend. WATCH: 'We're not stopping': Virginia rescue team searches for quake survivors in Venezuela Teams carrying flags from across the world cheered as rescuers carried Gil, wearing an oxygen mask on a stretcher covered in an orange tarp, through throngs of people into a Red Cross ambulance. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. A group of men in red Costa Rican Red Cross uniforms embraced and laughed in relief, while others broke out into applause. The rescue was considered a small miracle cutting through a week of tragedy. With teams sustaining him with food and water while they excavated the concrete, they were able to keep him alive far longer than the 48-to-72-hour threshold most rescue operations give to find survivors in disasters. Gil Flores worked as a night-shift security guard at the complex, 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. WATCH: Rescue efforts continue, but hopes of finding earthquake survivors fade in Venezuela "When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn't make it," Costa Rican Red Cross rescuer Minyar Collado told The Associated Press, but she added "We were never going to leave him here." A specialized team from the Costa Rican Red Cross first detected signs of life and established contact with him on Sunday. His wife, Gusbimar González, told the AP that she had days of despair before hearing that rescuers made contact. "When I learned he was alive, I saw a ray of light in the darkness," she said. The couple has two children, ages 8 and 10. The operation was coordinated by an urban search and rescue team of Chilean firefighters, who worked around the clock with specialized teams from the Uni