A 43-year-old security guard has been rescued alive after spending eight days trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed shopping centre basement in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, following devastating twin earthquakes.

Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was pulled to safety early on Thursday from the Galerías Playa Grande complex in La Guaira state, where he had been trapped since June 24.The building was destroyed by back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, which caused widespread destruction across northern Venezuela, killing more than 2,200 people and injuring over 11,000.

Rescue crews, coordinated by Chilean firefighters with support from teams from the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Venezuela, worked for more than 100 hours to reach him.

They first established contact over the weekend after detecting signs of life, and carefully tunnelled through highly unstable debris while enduring torrential rain and repeated aftershocks.

Throughout the operation, rescuers provided Gil Flores with water and liquid nutrients through a narrow shaft, sustaining him far beyond the typical 48 to 72-hour survival window.Gil Flores had been working a night shift when the earthquakes struck.His small security cabin partially withstood the collapse, creating an air pocket that likely saved his life.He was found conscious and wearing an oxygen mask as he was lifted out on a stretcher surrounded by cheering rescue workers.His wife, Gusbimar González, and their two children, aged eight and ten, had feared the worst until hearing he was alive.Officials described the rescue as a powerful symbol of hope amid one of Venezuela’s deadliest natural disasters in recent years.