Rescue workers pulled a man alive from beneath collapsed rubble eight days after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela's northern coast, as the confirmed death toll climbed past 2,500 with tens of thousands still missing and international teams racing against time to find more survivors.

Hernan Gil was extracted by an international rescue team in Catia La Mar, La Guaira State, on July 2—one of several miracle rescues that have provided glimmers of hope amid the catastrophe. Earlier in the week, a two-year-old boy was found alive after six days under a collapsed building, and a three-year-old was saved from rubble as well.

Massive International Response

More than 4,000 international rescuers have joined Venezuelan teams in what United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination personnel have called "a very strong international response." The operation includes 153 search dogs from international brigades and 49 support vehicles, with teams from Canada, Chile, and other nations conducting continuous operations.

As of July 2, official figures showed 2,595 confirmed dead and 6,461 people rescued from collapsed structures. The earthquakes—twin tremors that struck in rapid succession on June 24—affected the country's densely populated northern coast including areas near the capital Caracas.

Geological Similarities to San Andreas

Geophysicists have noted that the fault responsible for Venezuela's earthquakes shares characteristics with California's San Andreas Fault. Both are transform faults where tectonic plates slide horizontally past each other in strike-slip motion. Experts warn that seismic risks in the region are not over, with the potential for significant aftershocks in the coming weeks.

Political Instability Complicates Response

The disaster struck Venezuela at a particularly volatile moment. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez assumed power after U.S. forces removed Nicolás Maduro in January, and her 180-day interim mandate is now expiring. Public criticism has mounted over the pace of government response, prompting Rodríguez to issue a fiery defense of her administration's handling of the crisis.

International observers note that years of economic turmoil and sanctions have left Venezuela with weakened infrastructure and limited emergency response capabilities. The country's hospitals, already strained, are struggling to treat thousands of injured survivors while dealing with shortages of medical supplies and equipment.

As miracle rescues become increasingly rare more than a week after the earthquakes, officials acknowledge that the operation is shifting from rescue to recovery—though teams continue searching with diminishing hope of finding additional survivors.