Brief: Rescuer Saves Security Guard After Eight Days in Rubble
A 43-year-old security guard in Venezuela was pulled alive from the wreckage of a shopping center on Thursday after being trapped for eight days. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores endured the aftermath of two devastating earthquakes that resulted in over 2,200 fatalities.
Rescue teams located Gil Flores in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in La Guaira. His security booth remained intact during the quake, which shielded him from falling debris. Minyar Collado, a rescuer from the Costa Rican Red Cross, shared that when they found him, Gil Flores requested not to inform his wife about his survival, fearing the worst.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of rescue teams, contact with Gil Flores was established over the weekend through a telescopic camera. To sustain him during the rescue, teams provided water and nutrients via a narrow passageway.
His wife, Gusbimar González, expressed immense relief upon hearing the news of his survival. She said, “When I learned he was alive, I saw a ray of light in the darkness.” The couple has two young children, ages eight and ten.
Video footage captured the powerful moment when rescuers carried Gil Flores on a stretcher, draped with an orange tarp, through crowds who cheered him on as they placed him into an ambulance. The rescue operation involved firefighters from Chile, along with teams from Costa Rica, the U.S., Portugal, and Mexico.
The shopping center collapsed on June 24 following twin earthquakes measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5. These quakes caused widespread destruction, injuring more than 11,000 individuals and rendering tens of thousands of buildings unusable.
Gil Flores’ rescue provided a glimmer of hope amidst the tragedy. Earlier, rescuers had also saved a 2-year-old boy after he was trapped for six days. In another heartwarming rescue, American search-and-rescue teams retrieved a 9-month-old girl and her mother from beneath the rubble. Both were reported to have only minor injuries.
The U.S. government has pledged $150 million in humanitarian assistance to aid Venezuela in recovery efforts following this disaster.
