Security Guard Rescued After Eight Days Under Rubble
Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, a 43-year-old security guard, was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed shopping mall in La Guaira eight days after Venezuela's twin earthquakes struck on June 24, 2026. Gil Flores was working the night shift at the seven-storey building when the quakes buried him under 29 feet of debris. He survived inside a small security cabin that protected him from falling debris and created an air pocket. Rescuers worked for more than 100 hours to free the father of two, digging a tunnel about three metres long. In the final phase, about 30 people removed debris in the parking lot while two rescuers dug the tunnel. When Gil emerged, rescuers cheered, hugged, and crowded around him.
Mother and Newborn Survive Building Collapse
Dayana Patiño and her 18-day-old son, Juan David, were in their eighth-floor apartment in La Guaira when the quakes caused their home to collapse. Patiño was changing her son's diaper and managed to keep the infant on her chest as the building fell. She was pinned under debris with a broken knee, but Juan David survived without injury. Patiño credits the Bible she fell on top of for her son's safety. Her partner, Gerson Trujillo, rallied neighbours to dig. Rescuers provided water through a straw. Patiño told ABC News, "The one who gave me the strength not to fall into despair was my son. I kept saying, 'As long as he was alive, I was going to be alive.'" A widely viewed video shows Trujillo tearing up as he embraces his son.
Father and Son Found Alive After Four Days
A father and his teenage son were found alive after four days in the ruins of a collapsed building in La Guaira, the hardest-hit area where hundreds of buildings were destroyed. Rescue teams from France and the U.S. used specialized search cameras and carefully removed precarious rubble to reach them. A member of the French Civil Security told Reuters, "They are extremely weak, as any patient trapped under rubble for four days would be, so we are doing everything possible to rehydrate them and administer various medications during the extraction process, which is moving very slowly."
Ongoing Rescue Efforts Amid Devastation
The twin earthquakes struck less than a minute apart, 160 km from Caracas, leveling buildings across northwestern and central Venezuela. The death toll has surpassed 2,000, with some 50,000 people still missing, officials have said. More than 20 countries are aiding search efforts, and thousands have been rescued so far. A lucky few continue to be rescued even days after the critical window for survival has passed.
