An international team of rescue workers from several countries on Thursday successfully rescued Venezuelan 43-year-old man Hernán Gil, who remained trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building for eight days after the deadly June 24 earthquakes.
Around 100 rescue workers from seven countries — Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal, the United States, and Venezuela — tirelessly worked over the past days to keep Gil alive while rescue operations were underway in what his wife Gusbimar González described to the BBC as a “miracle.”
Venezuela suffered the worst natural tragedy in its modern history on the evening hours of Wednesday, June 24, when two back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.2 earthquakes struck the South American nation. While there are numerous reports of collapsed buildings in the capital city of Caracas and in other states, most of the devastation was centered in the northern state of La Guaira (formerly known as Vargas), a region declared as a “disaster zone” by the Venezuelan socialist regime.
The Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reported that for the past two years Gil worked as a security guard in Sol Marino Garden, an apartment building in Catia La Mar, La Guaira. The building is one of the at least 189 buildings that collapsed during last week’s earthquakes.
An international rescue team carries Hernan Gil, a survivor of Venezuela’s twin earthquakes, on a stretche in Catia La Mar, La Guaira State, Venezuela on July 2, 2026, eight days after the quake. (Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images)
According to El Nacional, Gil was carrying out his regular shift at the apartment building and was inside a booth at the parking lot when the earthquakes occurred and the building collapsed, leaving him trapped inside. The newspaper detailed that Gil’s father had worked as a security guard in the same building until he was murdered in 2018 after being kidnapped along with a “very famous” local businessman.
Vincenzo Borgna, one of the Chilean workers that participated in the delicate rescue operation, detailed to the BBC that Gil was found after he had spend five days trapped. The workers made a tunnel and, once they established contact with Gil, the workers inserted insert a probe with a camera to see what conditions was Gil in.
“And through this camera, we were able to run a hose that allowed us to ensure he stayed hydrated,” Borgna said.
The extensive and delicate operation to rescue Gil spanned about 72 hours and concluded on Thursday, given the complex challenge of carefully accessing his location without causing a further collapse of the ruined building. El Nacional detailed that Gil was not just conscious throughout his rescue, but managed to stay hydrated and “maintain a positive attitude that surprised the rescuers, to the point that he even joked around while trapped.”
“For us, it’s a miracle, and the way I feel, it’s incredible, it’s incredible, we can’t believe it, but as of today we can say that Mr. Hernán will be with his family soon, so we’re satisfied here in Venezuela,” Allan Madrigal, a member of the Costa Rican Red Cross, reportedly said, describing the successful rescue as the result of “persistency in extreme conditions.”
According to El Nacional, Gil was hospitalized in an intensive care unit of the Hospital de Clínicas Caracas (HCC), a private healthcare facility located in Caracas’ San Bernardino neighborhood. Medical tests reportedly revealed that Gil suffered several injuries, including a dislocated left clavicle, atelectasis bands, a left parietal subgaleal hematoma, and mild signs of inflammatory sinusitis. He remains stable and conscious at press time.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele celebrated the successful rescue of Hernán Gil and, in a social media post, “thanked God for making this miracle possible.” Bukele said that the rescue was thanks to the joint efforts of all participating countries and extended his admiration and gratitude to all the rescuers who participated in this operation, “as well as to Hernán, whose strength and resilience over the course of more than 7 days were extraordinary.”
Hernán Gil’s brother, Gunther Gil, spoke with Chilean reporters on Thursday night and said that while the past days were marked by anguish, the successful outcome offers a reason to hope, affirming, “it’s been a week of a lot of mental struggle and anxiety, obviously praying to God for my brother.”
“The important thing about all this is that God gave him the strength he needed to resist, to endure, to be there, to hold on,” he said.
At press time, the devastating earthquakes’ most recent death toll disclosed by “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez indicates that at least 2,295 people died and over 12,400 were injured. The exact amount of missing persons remains undetermined at press time, as the Venezuelan regime has not disclosed concrete specifics on the matter. U.N. officials estimating that as many as 50,000 could be missing as of Monday.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here