Rescue workers in Venezuela pulled a 43-year-old security guard from the rubble of a collapsed shopping centre eight days after twin earthquakes devastated the coastal city of La Guaira. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores survived thanks to a pocket of air in his workstation cabin, and his rescue was met with cheers from international teams.
Survival Against the Odds
Gil Flores, a nightshift security guard at the Galerías Playa Grande shopping centre, was inside his small security cabin when the first violent tremor struck. While the surrounding concrete structure collapsed, his cabin shielded him from crushing debris and created a vital air pocket. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes killed nearly 2,200 people, injured more than 11,000, and left tens of thousands missing.
International Rescue Effort
A specialised team from the Costa Rican Red Cross (CRRC) first detected signs of life and established contact with him on Sunday. “When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn’t make it,” said Minyar Collado, a CRRC team member. Four days later, on Thursday, teams from across the world cheered as rescuers carried Gil Flores on a stretcher into a Red Cross ambulance.
Gil Flores’s wife, Gusbimar González, said her despair turned to hope when she heard he was still alive. “I saw a ray of light in the darkness,” she said. The operation was coordinated by an urban search and rescue team of Chilean firefighters, working with specialist teams from the US, Portugal, and Mexico.
Complex and Dangerous Rescue
Rescuers navigated highly unstable structural conditions, torrential rain, and persistent aftershocks to tunnel down to Gil Flores. They used a telescopic camera to maintain constant contact, passing water and liquid nutrients through a narrow shaft during the final three days of extraction. María Paz Campos, a veteran Chilean firefighter, talked him through the operation and kept him calm.
In a video released by Chilean firefighters, Gil Flores was seen drawing to pass the time. Campos gently instructed him to wear protective goggles: “I need you to keep the goggles on to stop the small particles that are falling from getting into your eyes.”
Dwindling Hopes for More Survivors
While there have been a few astounding rescues, including a three-year-old boy pulled from rubble on Tuesday, hopes of finding many more survivors are fading. Families of the trapped cling to hope. Dora Bello, 49, said her 42-year-old nephew, Eduardo José Rosal Bello, was inside the Residencia Costa Brava tower block when it collapsed. “We need action. We need them to come and do something because there is life inside. There is life inside that building,” she said.
Survival Window May Be Extended
Russ Gauden, national coordinator and team leader in Venezuela for the UK’s International Search and Rescue team, said more survivors could still be found. “The population in this part of the world are very, very robust: humble, proud people. They’re survivors... The survival window is normally 96 hours here, 126, 130 hours. It’s a distinct possibility,” he said.
Shifting Focus to Survival
The focus is now shifting to survival for those who escaped the quakes. Many are homeless, and food and water are becoming scarce. The World Food Programme appealed for $50m on Tuesday, saying about 500,000 people would need to be fed for three months. Preliminary satellite data analysis suggests more than 58,000 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed, dwarfing official estimates.
