Venezuela quake survivor Hernán Gil pulled alive from collapsed parking-lot basement after eight days

Rescuers in Venezuela pulled a man trapped under the rubble of a collapsed multi-storey parking structure after eight days, ending a search that had required teams to navigate unstable concrete above a small void. The man, identified by rescuers and multiple outlets as Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, worked as a security guard at the site, according to reports.

Gil, 44, was found alive in a rescue operation centered on a collapsed shopping-mall car park in La Guaira, a coastal region that was hit by back-to-back earthquakes, CNN reported. Rescuers described the breakthrough as highly delicate because the building remained unstable and debris continued to pose a risk to the teams approaching the trapped space.

BBC reported that Gil was inside a concrete hut within the multi-storey car park when the structure collapsed. Video and accounts of the operation described a long period during which rescuers used cameras to monitor the trapped area and communicated with Gil while they prepared for access, including efforts to provide him with water, food, and medication through the narrow confines of the wreckage.

According to CNN, Chile Fire Department materials showed that rescuers made visual contact with Gil via a search camera system feeding into the collapsed basement, after which the team managed the flow of assistance in phases. CNN also reported that fluids were delivered through a hose and syringe as rescue crews in Venezuela and from abroad worked over multiple days.

The rescue coincided with continued broader efforts in the earthquake-affected areas, where searches for other survivors have faced shrinking odds as days pass. CNN cited a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team official saying that “only miraculous rescues have been achieved” seven days after an earthquake and that the so-called “golden window” for survival is typically shorter.

Rescue efforts have also been unfolding amid rising casualty estimates and damage assessments. The Times reported that the death toll had risen to almost 2,300, while noting that search teams continued to locate survivors and recover victims across affected towns and neighborhoods.

Following Gil’s extraction, the next steps will likely include medical evaluation and a determination of whether additional access points can be used to search nearby voids, a process that depends on structural safety inspections. Authorities and rescue organizations are expected to continue coordinating multi-agency efforts across La Guaira and other quake-hit locations as they adjust search plans to the remaining structural risks.