Rescuers inch closer to quake survivor after eight days – and he’s cheering them on

Rescue teams from seven countries are heading towards a man who survived the double earthquake that hit Venezuela eight days ago.

Emergency workers found security guard Hernán Gil under the rubble of a multi-storey car park in Catia La Mar on Saturday, but were only able to make visual contact with him in the final hours.

Despite being buried under nine meters deep, highly unstable rubble, rescuers say Gil, in his 40s, was in “good spirits” and was cheering them on.

His wife described his survival as a “miracle”. It has been confirmed that approximately 2,300 people died in the earthquakes that hit Venezuela on June 24, while tens of thousands of people are still missing.

Approximately 350 rescuers have been working against the clock to save Gil since his location was located more than 100 hours ago.

Teams from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and the United States are trying to save him.

Parts of the access channels they built to reach him collapsed several times, revealing that the job posed a danger to the rescuers as well as Gil.

Overnight, search teams were finally able to make visual contact with Gil.

In the footage recorded by a small camera placed inside the rubble where Gil was trapped, a Chilean firefighter can be heard asking Gil to turn his head towards the camera.

One of his eyes is bloodshot, and he is wearing a face mask that rescuers had previously handed him through a small hole to protect him from the dust and debris created by rescue efforts.

The firefighter asks him to wear goggles to protect his eyes as rescuers continue to carefully dig through the rubble surrounding him.