Story perspectives

Multinational Teams Rescue Survivor After 100-Hour Collapse in Venezuela

7/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

Rescuers passed water and medication through a narrow shaft, extending survival beyond 72 hours.
Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was rescued alive on July 2, 2026 from the collapsed Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in La Guaira, Venezuela.
Teams from Chile, the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and Venezuela worked over 100 hours on the extraction.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez called the rescue a living miracle and said thousands of officials were deployed.

History

Historical Context

In August 2010, Chile’s San José copper-gold mine collapse trapped 33 miners for 69 days, dramatically and internationally culminating in a celebrated rescue. The operation, coordinated by the Chilean government, NASA engineers, and the mining firm Codelco, employed three custom capsules and a $20 million budget. Similarly, in July 2026, rescuers from Venezuela, the United States, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico spent 100 hours extracting Hernán Gil Flores from the Galerías Playa Grande collapse. Both rescues underscored the vital role of multinational coordination and advanced life-support techniques in extending survival beyond the typical 72-hour window.

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Story summary

Rescuers passed water and medication through a narrow shaft, extending survival beyond 72 hours.
Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was rescued alive on July 2, 2026 from the collapsed Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in La Guaira, Venezuela.
Teams from Chile, the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and Venezuela worked over 100 hours on the extraction.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez called the rescue a living miracle and said thousands of officials were deployed.

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