Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Deutsche Welle

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17830414458271783041440128.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"></span></span></span></div><p>Rescuers search for possible victims at a collapsed building following twin earthquakes, in Caraballeda, La Guaira State, some 40 km northeast of Caracas, on June 27, 2026. Maryorin Mendez, AFP</p><div><br/></div><p>A team of international rescuers pulled a man alive from a collapsed building in Venezuela on Thursday, eight days after the country was rocked by<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/6/30/venezuela-rescuers-in-final-push-to-find-survivors-as-families-mourn-2104"> twin 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes.</a></p><p>Hernan Gil, 43, was working as a night watch guard at a seven-story building in Catia La Mar when part of it collapsed, trapping him in his security booth beneath the rubble.</p><p>&quot;When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn&#x27;t make it,&quot; Costa Rican rescuer Minyar Collado told the Associated Press.</p><p>But, she added, &quot;We were never going to leave him there.&quot;</p><p>Gil&#x27;s wife, Gusbimar Gonzalez, was elated by the news on Thursday.</p><p>&quot;I am completely surprised. It&#x27;s the first time I&#x27;ve seen so many countries come together like this for a single cause, to save one person,&quot; she told AFP. &quot;This is truly a miracle.&quot;</p><p>&quot;He wasn&#x27;t hurt, he has no trauma, he managed to hide under a table and a chair,&quot; she added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/7/1/three-year-old-rescued-six-days-after-venezuela-quakes-0922">Three-year-old rescued six days after Venezuela quakes </a></div><div><strong>Rescue took 3 days</strong></div><p>Rescuers from Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico worked around the clock for three days in order to rescue him.</p><p>They used a telescopic camera to communicate with him, provided water via a hose, and inserted a tube through the rubble to supply oxygen.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/7/2/hope-fades-hunger-sets-in-a-week-after-venezuela-quakes-0131">Hope fades, hunger sets in a week after Venezuela quakes </a></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:493px;height:659px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2072494796015350269&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-07-03T02%3A12%3A20.925383%3A05b7796a-0ecb-4fcf-a46e-5a96c83abd66%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=f79c90f2c8474da06c363cbae6a7c504d9bb1c32&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="2072494796015350269"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>These measures helped him survive for far longer than the 48- to 72-hour period most rescuers give to find survivors of such disasters.</p><p>&quot;This is a rather complicated structure to access,&quot; Cristian Vera, the leader of the Chilean rescue team, told AFP. &quot;It wasn&#x27;t easy to reach the exact spot where the victim was located.&quot;</p><p>Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez hailed the news on social media. It comes as her government faces criticism for what some citizens are calling a slow and inadequate response to the earthquakes.</p><p>&quot;We celebrate the greatness of humanity when it is united for a single purpose: to save another, she said. &quot;Thank you to our rescuers and to the support of the international rescuers.&quot;</p><div><strong>Death toll passes 2,000</strong></div><p>As the cleanup continues and the chances for rescues dwindle, the death toll has continued to climb.</p><p>Venezuela&#x27;s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Wednesday that at least 2,295 people had been confirmed dead. </p><p>More than 11,00 others were injured in the earthquakes.</p><p>Almost 60,000 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed, according to NASA data.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/6/29/looting-theft-in-venezuela-s-earthquake-zone-add-to-tragedy-0859">&#x27;They stole everything&#x27;: Looting, theft in Venezuela&#x27;s earthquake zone add to tragedy </a></div><p>The earthquakes also left 13,000 people homeless, according to government figures, while an unofficial but widely used online list says that tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/25/dfa-says-no-filipino-casualties-reported-in-venezuela-twin-quakes-1350">DFA says no Filipino casualties reported in Venezuela twin quakes </a></div><p>Edited by: Sean Sinico</p><div><em>Don&#x27;t let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your </em><a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=dw.com"><em>Preferred Source on Google by clicking here </em></a><em>and hitting the &quot;star&quot; or &quot;preferred&quot; button, so you&#x27;ll always see our verified news first.</em></div><div><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/venezuela-earthquake-man-rescued-8-days-hernan-gil-miracle/a-77809306?maca=en-VAS_ENG_ABS-CBN_Langtext-42381-xml-media"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774855555426dw-dark-blue-4c_page-0001.jpg" style="width:69px !important;height:50px" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"/></a></em></div><div><em><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yxUrZwCXLa4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JRLYDWk_37k?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W3hKn48lbhM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></em><br/></div>

<p>Rescuers worked around the clock for three days to free security guard Hernan Gil from the rubble of the building where he worked.</p>

Rescuers worked around the clock for three days to free security guard Hernan Gil from the rubble of the building where he worked.

Venezuelan man rescued alive 8 days after powerful quakes

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Venezuelan man rescued alive 8 days after powerful quakes

Deutsche Welle

Published July 03, 2026 09:19 AM PHT

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