How A 100-Hour Mission By 8 Countries Saved Venezuelan Man After Earthquake

For eight days, 43-year-old security guard Hernan Alberto Gil Flores lay trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela, unsure if he would survive. 

When rescuers finally reached him, his first request was heartbreaking: "He asked not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn't make it." 

Early Thursday, Gil Flores emerged from the ruins covered in dust, lying on a stretcher and surrounded by helmet-clad rescue workers. His rescue brought a rare moment of hope after a devastating earthquake disaster that has killed more than 2,200 people across northern Venezuela.

Trapped Beneath A Collapsed Building

Gil Flores, a night-shift security guard, was inside his small security cabin at the Galerias Playa Grande shopping centre in Catia La Mar, in La Guaira state, when two powerful earthquakes struck on June 24.

The back-to-back earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, brought down a seven-storey building and damaged tens of thousands of structures across northern Venezuela. More than 11,000 people were injured, with La Guaira among the worst-hit areas.

While the concrete structure collapsed around him, Gil Flores's security cabin remained intact, shielding him from falling debris and creating a small pocket of air that helped keep him alive.

For several days, his family had no idea whether he had survived.

A specialised team from the Costa Rican Red Cross first detected signs of life and established contact with him on Sunday. His wife, Gusbimar Gonzalez, said she had struggled with despair before learning rescuers had found him alive.

"When I learned he was alive, I saw a ray of light in the darkness," she told The Associated Press.

The couple have two children, aged eight and 10.

Costa Rican Red Cross rescuer Minyar Collado later revealed the message Gil Flores gave after rescuers made contact. "When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn't make it," Collado told AP. "We were never going to leave him here."

Race Against Time

The rescue operation quickly turned into an international effort. The mission was coordinated by an urban search-and-rescue team from Chile, working alongside specialised teams from the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Venezuela.

Rescuers spent more than 100 hours navigating a highly unstable structure, torrential rain and repeated aftershocks to reach the trapped security guard.

A telescopic camera was inserted into the rubble, allowing rescuers to maintain constant contact with Gil Flores. Through a narrow shaft, they delivered water and liquid nutrients to keep him alive.

During the final three days of the operation, more than 10 litres of water and liquid nutrients were passed to him to ensure he remained hydrated.

As the rescue entered its final phase, around 30 people worked in the building's parking area clearing debris while two rescuers carefully dug a three-metre tunnel towards the trapped man.

Maria Paz Campos, a veteran firefighter from Chile, spoke to Gil Flores throughout the operation and helped keep him calm during the final hours before his rescue.

Video released by Chilean firefighters showed Gil Flores drawing while waiting underground. 

"I need you to keep the goggles on, for the small particles that are falling, to avoid them getting into your eye," she told him.

After more than three days of intensive excavation and eight days trapped beneath the rubble, rescuers finally reached Gil Flores.

Teams carrying flags from around the world cheered as he was carried from the debris wearing an oxygen mask and covered with an orange tarp.

By providing food, water and constant communication while carefully excavating the concrete around him, rescue teams managed to keep Gil Flores alive far beyond the 48-to-72-hour window during which survivors are typically found after major disasters.

(With inputs from agencies)