July 02, 2026
Search and rescue teams from El Salvador and Chile on Thursday rescued a 44-year-old security guard trapped in the ruins of the mall where he worked in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira, more than a week after a duo of strong earthquakes devastated the country's northern coast.
Work to save Hernan Alberto Gil from the rubble of the nine-story Galerias Playa Grande shopping center began on Monday, according to Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele, who has been posting updates about the operation on X.
Rescuers were able to provide him with hydration via tubing, Bukele has said, but needed to dig two separate tunnels to try to reach him, because of the instability of the ruins.
Gil was carried out of the rubble on a stretcher on Thursday morning and loaded into an ambulance as cheering rescuers and reporters looked on.
