Security Guard Found Alive After 8 Days Beneath Earthquake Rubble
Two earthquakes struck Venezuela in June, one 7.2 magnitude earthquake followed shortly by one magnitude 7.5 tremor. According to Reuters, an unofficial missing persons count reached 41,000, and the official death count reached 2,954.
In the midst of the chaos and uncertainty there are glimpses of hope, such as in the case of a security guard found alive after 8 days spent trapped beneath rubble. In what NBC News has called a “near-miraculous rescue,” 43-year-old Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was retrieved from a collapsed mall after surviving inside an air pocket beneath the concrete. Rescuers were able to offer him food and water through available crevices in order to help him survive until rescue was possible.
His rescue came 5 days after the 72-hour mark in which experts say it is more likely to find survivors following an earthquake.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) predicts the death toll of this catastrophe will reach 10,000.
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