Rescue workers carry Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, 44, an earthquake survivor, in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Thursday. Photo by Ronald R. Pena/EPA
July 2 (UPI) -- A man was rescued alive after eight days trapped under rubble of a nine-story building in La Guaira, Venezuela, after two earthquakes devastated the area.
Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, 44, was buried under 29-feet of wreckage from a collapsed shopping mall parking lot. He had been working from a concrete booth in the garage underground, which may have helped protect him from injury, rescuers said.
He is in good condition, and "He has now been transferred to a medical facility," said the Chilean fire brigade in a post on X. The brigade said it took 70 hours to rescue Flores.
Twin earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, killing thousands. Officially, nearly 2,300 people are confirmed dead from the quakes, and tens of thousands are missing. The city of La Guaira, on the Atlantic coast was one of the hardest hit in the quakes,
