A miraculous rescue unfolded on Thursday as a 43-year-old security guard was pulled alive from the ruins of a collapsed building, eight days after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela.
The rescue of Hernan Gil provides a rare moment of hope amidst a deepening humanitarian crisis. While international teams from seven nations, including Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico, worked for days to reach him, the broader focus is shifting from search-and-rescue operations to the urgent needs of thousands left homeless.
The twin quakes, which registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, caused catastrophic destruction. According to the latest government figures, at least 2,295 people have died and 11,000 have been injured. With approximately 50,000 people still reported missing and 60,000 buildings damaged or destroyed, officials warn that the death toll is likely to climb.
Gil, who worked in a seven-storey building in the coastal area of Catia La Mar, was located three days before his eventual extraction.
Cristian Vera, who led the Chilean rescue team, explained that rescuers had to dig a three-metre tunnel to reach him, noting, “It wasn’t easy to reach the exact spot where the victim was located.” In the days leading up to his rescue, teams were able to provide him with water through a hose and an oxygen tube.
“This is truly a miracle,” Gil’s wife, Gusbimar Gonzalez, told AFP.
Despite this success, the reality on the ground remains grim. Reporting from La Guaira, Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi noted that many buildings are already marked with the letter D for “deceased,” as search-and-rescue efforts yield fewer survivors.
“One search-and-rescue expert we spoke to on the ground said the footprint of this disaster is so big, there are 58,000 buildings that have been destroyed or damaged, there’s so much area to search, and so many days into the aftermath of this earthquake, it is less and less likely that anyone can be found alive,” Basravi reported.
As the mission transitions into a phase of humanitarian relief, experts are raising alarms about a potential health crisis. Venezuela’s already strained medical system faces a surge of untreated injuries and the risk of infectious diseases.
The UN Development Programme estimates that the physical damage from the disaster amounts to $6.7bn, while the World Food Programme has launched an appeal for $50m to provide essential food assistance to 500,000 people over the next three months.
