A man has been rescued alive after spending eight days trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building following twin earthquakes in Venezuela, in what officials have described as a “living miracle”.
The survivor, identified as Hernán Gil, was pulled out more than 100 hours after rescue teams first detected signs of life under about 140 tonnes of debris.
Venezuela’s Acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, visited him in hospital and described his survival as extraordinary, calling him “a living miracle”.
Authorities said the disaster, which struck on 24 June, has killed 2,595 people, with tens of thousands still missing as rescue operations continue.
Emergency teams from multiple countries, including Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Portugal, El Salvador, and the United States, took part in the complex rescue operation, which involved careful excavation of unstable debris and repeated setbacks due to collapsing tunnels.
Rescuers eventually established visual contact using a small camera before safely reaching Gil, who was reportedly conscious throughout much of the ordeal and sustained no major injuries.
Officials said the rescue is one of the most complex operations carried out since the earthquakes, with teams continuing search and recovery efforts across affected areas.
