Man Rescued Alive Eight Days After Quake in Venezuela

Rescue workers pulled 44-year-old security guard Hernan Alberto Gil alive from the rubble of a shopping center in La Guaira state on Thursday, more than a week after two powerful earthquakes devastated Venezuela's northern coast.

Teams from El Salvador, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica and Venezuela took part in the rescue operation. While Gil was trapped under the rubble, rescuers kept him hydrated through a tube and eventually opened a second access tunnel after the original route proved unsafe.

Earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck within less than a minute of each other nearly eight days ago. According to the latest figures, they have claimed 2,295 lives, with approximately 38,600 people still on the unofficial list of missing persons. The UN said this week that it had procured 10,000 body bags, and the US Geological Survey estimates the death toll could exceed 10,000.

Economic losses are expected to exceed $10bn. Volunteers are playing a major role in the rescue effort, though they have highlighted a shortage of heavy equipment. The World Health Organization warned that the disaster has further worsened the humanitarian crisis and strained the country's healthcare system.

(Reuters, bak)