After more than 100 hours of rescue operations, Venezuelan man Hernan Alberto Gil Flores was pulled alive from the rubble following two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24. The quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, caused widespread destruction and killed more than 2,500 people. Gil had been trapped for eight days beneath 140 tons of concrete debris from a collapsed multistory shopping mall where he worked as a security guard.

Rescue team member Minyar Collado from Costa Rica said Gil repeatedly asked rescuers not to inform his wife that he was alive, explaining that he was uncertain how long he would survive. Despite his request, news of his survival reached his wife, Gusbiman Gonzalez. Gil described his ordeal, saying he had feared rescuers would never find him and credited divine mercy for his survival.

Authorities continue searching for survivors under the debris as the country grapples with the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes.