In brief
After the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June, Hernán Gil was found trapped in building debris and had been underground for more than a week. Emergency workers, helped by international teams from Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States, freed him over 100 hours after the search began. The rescue came amid a larger effort that has seen thousands of aid workers comb through collapsed buildings to search for survivors. Gil's extraction offers a rare glimmer of hope in a disaster that has claimed thousands of lives and left many missing.
A man named Hernán Gil was rescued alive after being trapped for eight days beneath the rubble of a building that collapsed following twin earthquakes on 24 June in Venezuela.
Emergency workers, aided by international teams from Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States, freed Gil over 100 hours after the search began.
The rescue comes amid a larger effort that has seen thousands of aid workers comb through collapsed buildings to find survivors, as the disaster has claimed almost 2,300 lives and left tens of thousands still missing.