The Daily Journal. Security guard Hernán Gil, 44, emerged alive from the rubble on Thursday after spending eight days trapped beneath the collapsed Galerías Playa Grande Shopping Center in Catia La Mar, La Guaira. The powerful magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck north-central Venezuela buried him beneath the debris.
The rescue brought one of the most complex operations of the emergency to a successful conclusion after 70 uninterrupted hours of work by national and international rescue teams.
Gil had remained trapped since June 24 inside the security booth where he had been working when the partial collapse of the structure buried him beneath tons of concrete.
Throughout the operation, rescuers kept him alive by continuously supplying air, water, and fluids through tubes and hoses threaded through the narrow gaps in the rubble. At the same time, they worked to create a safe passage to his location.
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, celebrated the rescue on social media.
“After more than 100 hours of sustained work, Hernán Gil has been rescued alive. Today we celebrate the greatness of humanity when people unite for one purpose: saving another life. Thank you to our rescuers and to the international rescue teams!” Rodríguez wrote on her X account.
Rescue crews extended the final stage of the operation because the damaged building faced a high risk of another collapse.
According to structural specialists, Gil survived because the security booth where he had been working functioned as a protective capsule when the building gave way during the earthquakes.
Even so, more than 140 tons of concrete, columns, and floor slabs buried the small space, turning every movement into an operation that demanded extreme precision.
Engineers ruled out the use of heavy machinery during the initial structural assessments.
Instead, rescue teams relied exclusively on chisels, hammers, hand tools, and precision equipment to prevent vibrations from triggering another collapse over the confined space where the security guard remained trapped.
During the past week, Hernán Gil’s story became one of the strongest symbols of hope amid a tragedy that has claimed 2,295 lives and left nearly 13,000 people displaced across Venezuela.
