Venezuela earthquake: Victim rescued after being trapped under rubble for 192 hours.
On July 2nd (local time), rescue workers in Venezuela successfully pulled a 43-year-old man from the rubble, eight days after the double earthquake devastated the South American nation. This miraculous recovery has kindled a glimmer of hope amidst a country engulfed in grief with nearly 2,300 deaths and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
One of the lucky victims rescued was Hernan Gil, a security guard working at a seven-story building in Catia La Mar. This coastal area was almost completely flattened after the disaster that occurred on June 24th.
To achieve this feat, rescue teams from seven countries, including Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico, worked tirelessly for three days.
During the locating and approach process, the authorities laid a supply pipe carrying over 10 liters of water and installed an oxygen supply system to sustain the victim's life.
Entering the final, decisive phase, approximately 30 rescuers cleared the area around the parking lot and patiently dug a 3-meter-long tunnel to precisely reach Gil's location.
The moment the 43-year-old man was carried out on a medical stretcher, hundreds of people burst into tears of joy.
With the crucial 72-hour window long past, the chances of finding more survivors under the rubble are dwindling. In the city of La Guaira, the hardest-hit area, most of the collapsed buildings have been marked with the letter "D" (Dead), indicating that authorities have searched but found no signs of life.
Many relatives and volunteers are now putting aside their hopes and shifting their focus to the search for the victims' bodies.
According to the latest figures from the Venezuelan government, the double earthquake disaster, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, has claimed the lives of 2,295 people and injured more than 11,000.
In addition, satellite data shows that nearly 60,000 structures have been damaged or completely destroyed.
The devastating consequences of the natural disaster have left approximately 13,000 people homeless, forced to set up makeshift tents in streets and parks.
The focus of relief efforts now has to shift to supporting survivors. With healthcare infrastructure overwhelmed and shortages of clean water and food becoming increasingly severe, experts have warned of the risk of disease outbreaks.
Faced with this urgent situation, the World Food Programme (WFP) has urgently appealed for $50 million in aid to ensure food supplies for approximately 500,000 Venezuelans for the next three months, helping them recover from this historic tragedy.
