In a remarkable act of resilience, Hernán Gil, a security guard from Venezuela, was successfully rescued alive after being trapped for eight days beneath the debris of a collapsed multi-story car park following twin earthquakes. The dramatic rescue operation, hailed as one of the most complex and technically challenging ever undertaken, took place in Catia La Mar, near the Galerias Playa Grande mall. Emergency teams from Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal, and the United States collaborated tirelessly to free Gil, who was miraculously discovered with no crushed nails by a paramedic from the Costa Rican Red Cross. Despite several setbacks, including collapses of access ducts, rescuers managed to establish visual contact with Gil overnight, leading to his eventual extraction the following day. The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, visited Gil in hospital and praised the rescue efforts, calling him a "living miracle." As of Thursday evening, the death toll from the earthquakes stood at 2,595, with tens of thousands still unaccounted for. Rodríguez defended her government's response to the disaster, stating that thousands of officials had been deployed immediately after the quakes. The survivor, Gil, remained in high spirits throughout the ordeal, even requesting specific flavors of hydration drinks and expressing gratitude towards his rescuers. The rescuer who initially heard Gil's faint cries for help, Allan Madrigal, described the experience as life-changing, stating that he would return to Costa Rica a different person.