L.A. firefighters help rescue Venezuela quake victim buried for 8 days

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — Many emergency response teams, who wanted to leave behind the days of destruction and massacre they witnessed in Venezuela, devastated by the earthquake, gathered in front of the collapsed shopping mall.

Finally the long-awaited moment came: Firefighters pulled out the stretcher carrying security guard Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, who had survived more than a week trapped under a mountain of rubble.

Spontaneous applause and even some tears have been shed at the decrepit parking structure where Gil is buried since two earthquakes struck within seconds of each other on June 24.

Among those present were members of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

“We’re so proud to be a part of this,” Capt. Adam Bradley said after Thursday’s dramatic events. “We are so happy to think that our contributions and those of others will help this man return to his family and live a wonderful life.”

His story of survival against all odds stunned even experienced first responders.

“There are not many successful cases where people who were trapped in a building for seven days were rescued alive,” Mario Armenteras, an emergency worker from Chile, told reporters. “This is quite a historic event for us. And it’s a rescue that will be remembered for a long time by the teams working together here from countries around the world.”

The cinematic outcome revived some hope in a reeling country where the official death toll announced on Saturday rose to 2,954 dead and 16,592 injured, with thousands more missing.

“I never lost hope,” said Gil’s 32-year-old husband, Franyimar González, who keeps watch in front of the parking lot entrance every day. “I thank God that my husband survived this great tragedy.”

Rescue workers from many countries wait as their colleagues extract Gil.

The operation was a testament to the increasing effectiveness of the multinational collection of urban search and rescue teams known as USAR, which have become lifesavers everywhere in disaster epicenters around the world.

Nearly two dozen countries sent nearly 3,000 emergency personnel to Venezuela. Their multilingual staff includes search and rescue experts, doctors, dog teams and structural engineers.

Many have worked and trained together for years, forming bonds that transcend cultures and languages. Friendship was also evident on the field in the coastal city of La Guaira, where earthquake damage was most severe and dozens of buildings collapsed.

“We know these guys on a first-name basis,” said Trey Espy, L.A. County deputy fire chief, who was among Chilean, Mexican and other responders at the scene. “So it’s pretty easy to coordinate and get things done.”

Espy and Bradley were part of a 70-plus-member L.A. County emergency contingent sent to Venezuela. Some have experience with earthquake relief in Türkiye, Haiti, and Nepal, among other places around the world.

After the successful rescue, Los Angeles County firefighters reached their headquarters in Venezuela.

About 100 emergency workers from half a dozen countries, including an L.A. County team, tried for days to reach Gil, who worked as a security guard in an underground parking garage.

Gil was buried under more than 100 tons of rubble after the partial collapse of the Galerias Playa Grande commercial center, which includes nine- and four-story buildings.

The rescue, which involved complex planning, was largely accomplished without the use of heavy machinery. Vibrations from the excavation equipment could have triggered further collapse, possibly dooming Gil and his rescuers.

The crew had to clear multiple floors of debris as they made their way inside; In addition to pieces of concrete, walls and flooring, obstacles included a bathroom sink and toilet falling from above.

“This mostly involved using things like shovels, buckets and hands,” Espy said.

Luckily, the small kiosk where Gil was kept acted as a buffer of sorts, offering some protection against the accumulation of debris looming above. He managed to survive in the protected cavity, a life-saving scenario that occasionally occurs when multi-storey structures tumble pancake-style, support beams bend and concrete slabs crash to the ground.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief Trey Espy, from a command center in Catia La Mar, was part of the more than 70-member county rescue team sent to Venezuela.

“As the debris falls, we hope you can be buried but not injured,” Espy said. “You can’t get out, but you’re alive.”

According to various reports, rescue teams from Costa Rica first detected signs of life in the ruins of the mall on June 28.

The next day, a team from Chile confirmed that Gil was still alive in the sub-basement using radar and sonar sound detection equipment.

The Chileans drilled holes that allowed workers to insert a camera and pinpoint its location. Rescuers managed to talk to Gil and film him; They assessed that although he was bruised, he did not appear to have sustained any major injuries.

Rescuers were able to place tubes to provide Gil with water, hydration fluids, protein shakes and medication. Lights were also installed.

Espy said the Chileans called in the LA County team to help develop a strategy to find the best way to extract survivors.

First responders from international delegations pull Gil from the rubble of the parking structure. LA County firefighters are scheduled to leave Venezuela on Monday.

Working around the clock, emergency experts considered various means of entry and exit from the nearest accessible access point, approximately 25 meters from where Gil was trapped. Rescuers first had to descend a rubble-covered parking ramp and ascend a flight of stairs, always aware of the danger of a new collapse of the shaky structure.

It was a race against time. The crews dug a pair of tunnels, strengthening the walls as they progressed.

“We shuffled our teams around and everyone kind of attacked,” Espy said.

Rescuers removed Gil from his intended grave, onto a stretcher, and into a crowd of onlookers waiting outside in the blazing tropical sun before 10 a.m. News crews, Venezuelan officials and surrounding residents were intrigued by a remarkable scene that offered a glimmer of hope amid the country’s dystopian landscape.

Gil was wearing an oxygen mask and a neck brace and had bruises on his face as he was taken to a waiting ambulance. But officials said he appeared to be in an extraordinary condition under extreme conditions, pending medical examinations.

Emotions ran deep among the multinational community of emergency workers who witnessed one man’s unexpected rescue. Many hugged.

“It feels good for the country after all the devastation they’ve been through,” said Bradley, the LA County fire chief. “We are thrilled that the Venezuelan people can see one of their own coming home from the rubble.”

La Guaira and Times special correspondent Mogollón reported S.taf wRiter McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal contributed from Mexico City.