Man rescued from rubble of his workplace eight days after Venezuela earthquakes

CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela — Rescuers pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from a collapsed basement early Thursday, ending a grueling dayslong operation that became a symbol of hope after the devastation of twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela eight days earlier.

Hernán Alberto Gil Flores emerged to safety atop a stretcher surrounded by helmet-clad rescue workers after being trapped since June 24 under rubble in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal town of La Guaira.

Rescuers, who initially made contact with him over the weekend, worked for more than 100 hours to free him — navigating a highly unstable structure, torrential rain and persistent aftershocks to tunnel down to the survivor.

Teams carrying flags from around the world cheered as rescuers carried Gil Flores, wearing an oxygen mask and covered in an orange tarp, through throngs of people to an ambulance.

One Chilean rescuer carrying his stretcher pumped his fist in joy. A group of men in red Costa Rican Red Cross uniforms embraced and laughed in relief. Others broke out into applause.

“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.”

Hoy celebramos la vida de Hernán Gil. Gracias a los rescatistas nacionales e internacionales que pusieron su cuerpo, su tiempo y su alma en esta misión. pic.twitter.com/vSSFeNe6Jy

— Delcy Rodríguez (@delcyrodriguezv) July 2, 2026

The rescue was considered a small miracle, cutting through a week of tragedy. By supplying Gil Flores with food and water while they excavated the concrete, rescue teams were able to keep him alive far longer than the 48- to 72-hour threshold most operations give to find survivors in disasters.

Gil Flores, who worked as a night-shift security guard at the complex, was inside his small security cabin when the first violent tremor struck. While the surrounding concrete structure collapsed around him, his cabin held ground, shielding 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 established contact with him on Sunday.

His wife, Gusbimar González, told the AP that she grappled with despair for days before hearing that rescuers made contact.

“When I learned he was 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, who worked around the clock with specialized teams from the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Venezuela.

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez celebrated the rescue on social media at a time when her government has come under fire for what many Venezuelans say has been an inadequate crisis response.

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

Teams used a telescopic camera to help maintain constant contact with Gil Flores, passing 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 final excruciating hours Thursday.

In a video published by Chilean firefighters in the hours before the rescue, Gil Flores is seen drawing, seemingly to pass the time. Campos then gently tells him to look at the camera and to wear protective goggles.

“I need you to keep the goggles on, for the small particles that are falling, to avoid them getting into your eye,” Campos told the Venezuelan survivor.

Separately, a heartwarming video circulating online showed rescuers saving a dog, Giselle, on Monday after spending five days under the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Caraballeda.

In the footage, Giselle showers one of her rescuers with kisses.

???? Meet Giselle — the miracle dog rescued after five days beneath the rubble in Venezuela

Search-and-rescue teams from El Salvador pulled her alive from the collapsed building, where she had been trapped since the devastating earthquake.

The first thing Giselle did after being… https://t.co/wWMiC8Knqk pic.twitter.com/TZgI7qgRVD

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 1, 2026

Israeli medical team actively treating quake survivors

NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief said Wednesday that its emergency medical team is on the ground in Venezuela and actively treating survivors following the quakes. The team is operating in La Guaira and Caracas, delivering immediate medical care and psychosocial support alongside local healthcare providers, the organization said.

A second team of volunteer professionals — two physicians, a nurse, and two social workers — was set to arrive shortly, expanding direct care for survivors and vulnerable communities. At the same time, two senior physicians are being deployed to evaluate structurally damaged hospitals facing patient overflow. Working with local hospital leadership, they will assess establishing an Emergency Ambulatory Surge Extension (EASE) International, a temporary facility to treat lower-acuity patients and relieve pressure on overwhelmed emergency departments.

Israel is also sending an official engineering delegation in coordination with Venezuelan authorities; Dr. Sharon Shaul, NATAN’s Medical Director, will accompany the delegation as its physician.

NATAN is coordinating with local Jewish community leaders and humanitarian organizations already active in Venezuela to direct resources where they will have the greatest impact, with a continued focus on strengthening local capacity for as long as its presence is needed.

In addition to Israeli NGOs, an official delegation from the military and Foreign Ministry representatives is on the ground as well.

Venezuela broke diplomatic ties with Israel over Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-2009, and under then-leader Nicolas Maduro, it has been one of the world’s most vocal countries in its opposition to Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror invasion.

However, Israel has expressed hope for better ties with Caracas since the US captured Maduro in January.

Two back-to-back earthquakes struck on June 24, registering magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively. The shallow, violent tremors damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings across northern Venezuela, killing more than 2,200 people, injuring over 11,000, and leaving La Guaira state as the hardest-hit region in the country.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.