Portuguese rescue team keeps trapped Venezuelan alive against odds

Portuguese rescue teams deployed to earthquake-hit Venezuela are engaged in a race against time to save a 44-year-old man who has remained trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed shopping centre for more than a week.

Hernán Alberto Gil has been buried under debris on the third floor of a shopping centre in Playa Grande since the devastating earthquakes struck last week.

Despite the extraordinary length of time he has been trapped, rescuers have established contact with him and are working continuously to keep him alive while attempting a complex extraction.

The Portuguese team has been rotating with rescuers from El Salvador to speak to Gil and provide him with water, helping to keep him hydrated as engineers and emergency crews work to reach him safely.

The rescue operation remains ongoing.

The mission is one of the highest-profile operations undertaken by the Portuguese contingent, which was deployed to Venezuela to assist with international search-and-rescue efforts following the twin earthquakes that devastated parts of the country.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan authorities have arrested four police officers accused of stealing cash from collapsed buildings in the hard-hit state of La Guaira.

The officers, members of Venezuela’s Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC), were dismissed from the force and are due to appear before a court after videos circulated on social media appearing to show angry residents confronting them over the alleged thefts. Footage also showed banknotes being torn up during the confrontation.

The humanitarian toll of the disaster continues to worsen.

The number of Portuguese citizens and people of Portuguese descent confirmed dead has risen to 71, according to the latest figures. Of those victims, 59 also held Venezuelan nationality. The fatalities include 10 children, while 74 Portuguese nationals or members of the Portuguese community remain missing.

The previous official count had recorded 60 deaths among Portuguese citizens and luso-descendants.

Venezuela’s overall earthquake death toll has also increased sharply. According to Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Rodríguez, quoted by Reuters, 1,943 people have now been confirmed dead, while the number of injured has more than doubled to 10,571.

More than 50,000 people remain missing, highlighting the scale of one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters in recent history.

Portuguese rescue teams continue to work alongside international emergency crews as hopes remain that further survivors could still be found beneath the rubble, even as the chances of successful rescues diminish with each passing day.

Source material: SIC Notícias

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.