A man was pulled alive from the rubble more than a week after the Venezuelan earthquake

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 left by twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela eight days ago.

Hernan Alberto Gil Flores emerged to safety covered in dust on a stretcher surrounded by helmeted rescue workers after being trapped since June 24 under rubble in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal city of La Guaira.

Rescuers, who initially contacted Gil Flores over the weekend, worked more than 100 hours to free him, navigating an extremely unstable structure, heavy rain and constant aftershocks to reach the survivor.

Bands carrying flags from around the world cheered as rescuers carried Gil Flores, wearing an oxygen mask and covered in orange tarps, through crowds of people to an ambulance where they methodically checked his vital signs.

Rescue workers carry Hernan Alberto Gil Flores Gil after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by two earthquakes that struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Rescue workers carry Hernan Alberto Gil Flores Gil after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by two earthquakes that struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

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One of the Chilean rescuers, carrying a stretcher, raised his fist in joy. A group of men wearing red Costa Rican Red Cross uniforms hugged each other and laughed with relief. Others burst into applause.

“When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he didn’t survive,” Minear Collado, a Costa Rican Red Cross rescuer, told the Associated Press, but she added: “We would never leave him here.”

The rescue operation was considered a small miracle within a week of the tragedy. By providing Gil Flores with food and water as they excavated the concrete, rescue teams were able to keep him alive much longer than the 48 to 72 hour threshold offered by most operations to find survivors in disasters.

Gil Flores, who was working as a security guard on the night shift at the complex, was inside his small security cabin when the first violent quake struck. While the concrete structure surrounding him collapsed, his cabin remained fixed to the ground, protecting him from crushing debris and creating a vital pocket of air.

A specialized team from the Costa Rican Red Cross first detected signs of life and made contact with it on Sunday.

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His wife, Josepimar Gonzalez, told the Associated Press that she suffered from despair for several days before she heard that rescuers had called them.

“When I knew 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 United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Venezuela.

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez celebrated the rescue on social media at a time when her government has been criticized for what many Venezuelans say is an inadequate response to the crisis.

“We celebrate the greatness of humanity, when it unites for one purpose: to save another. Thank you to our rescuers and the support of international rescuers,” she wrote in a post on X.

Teams used a telescopic camera to help maintain constant contact with Gil Flores, running water and liquid nutrients through a narrow shaft to keep him hydrated during the final three days of the rescue.

María Paz Campos, a veteran firefighter from Chile, talked him through the entire operation and kept him calm during the agonizing final hours on Thursday.

Chilean rescue workers carry Hernan Alberto Gil Flores after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by two earthquakes that struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Chilean rescue workers carry Hernan Alberto Gil Flores after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by two earthquakes that struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

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In a video posted by Chilean firefighters in the hours before the rescue, Gil Flores was seen drawing, apparently to pass the time. Campos then gently asks him to look at the camera and wear goggles.

“I want you to put on your goggles to protect against small particles that fall, to avoid getting them into your eyes,” Campos told the survivor.

The building’s collapse was caused by two successive earthquakes on June 24 with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively. Violent, shallow earthquakes damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings across northern Venezuela, killing more than 2,200 people and injuring more than 11,000 others, and making La Guaira state the worst-hit region in the country.

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AP video journalists Andre Rincon and Brian Antiquero contributed to this report.

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