Man Rescued Alive After Eight Days Under Venezuela Earthquake Rubble as Death Toll Climbs to 2,595

A man has been rescued alive after spending eight days trapped beneath the rubble of a building that collapsed during the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela, in what authorities have described as a remarkable survival story amid one of the country's deadliest natural disasters.

Hernan Gil was pulled from the wreckage after emergency teams spent days working through approximately 140 tonnes of debris to reach him. Rescuers said they first detected signs of life more than 100 hours before finally bringing him to safety.

His rescue comes as Venezuela continues to grapple with the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that struck on June 24. Authorities said the death toll had risen to 2,595 as of Thursday evening, while thousands of people remain missing.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez visited Gil in hospital on Thursday and described his survival as "a living miracle."

Speaking during a press briefing, Rodriguez called the earthquakes "a natural tragedy on a scale we never imagined" and rejected criticism that the government had been slow to respond to the disaster.

"We've done everything in our power, and we'll continue to do everything in our power and more," she said, adding that thousands of emergency personnel were mobilised immediately after the earthquakes.

The complex rescue operation brought together emergency responders from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States.

A Chilean firefighter involved in the operation described the mission as one of the most technically demanding rescue efforts he had ever undertaken.

Costa Rican Red Cross paramedic Allan Madrigal, who first heard Gil's faint cries for help on Sunday, said the discovery marked a turning point in the operation.

"It was an emotional moment," Madrigal recalled, explaining that he initially questioned whether he had actually heard someone beneath the rubble before asking a colleague to confirm the sound.

Gil, a security guard, had been inside a small concrete booth in the basement parking area next to the Galerias Playa Grande shopping mall when the earthquakes struck. Rescue officials believe the booth formed a protective shell around him, shielding him from the weight of the collapsed structure.

Medical personnel attending to the operation said Gil remarkably escaped without serious crushing injuries despite spending more than a week trapped beneath the debris.

Throughout the rescue effort, emergency workers supplied him with water and intravenous fluids while engineers carefully excavated unstable sections of the collapsed building.

The operation was repeatedly delayed after narrow access tunnels dug through the debris collapsed several times, forcing rescuers to proceed cautiously to avoid triggering further cave-ins.

After days of painstaking excavation, rescue teams eventually established visual contact with Gil using a small camera inserted through an opening in the rubble.

Video released from inside the collapsed structure showed firefighters asking him to turn toward the camera. Gil appeared alert, wearing a protective face mask and goggles that rescuers had passed to him through a small opening to shield him from dust.

Marco Antonio Franco of the Mexican Red Cross described Gil as being in remarkably positive spirits throughout the ordeal.

Speaking to Mexican media, Franco said the survivor remained cheerful and even requested hydration drinks in his preferred flavours.

"He himself encouraged us to keep going," Franco said. "He recognised members of our team each time they returned and thanked them for staying with him."

Rescuers maintained constant conversations with Gil throughout the operation, discussing his family and updating him on the progress of efforts to free him in order to keep his morale high.

For Madrigal, who was taking part in his first international rescue mission, the experience was transformative.

"The young man who came here a week ago is not the same one who will return to Costa Rica," he said.

Gil's dramatic rescue has offered a rare moment of hope for Venezuela as search teams continue combing through collapsed buildings in search of more survivors amid one of the country's worst earthquake disasters in recent history.