Hernan Gil was working his shift as a security guard in the basement of a building in Venezuela on the afternoon of June 24 when he felt the earth shake. The first tremor was brief, but the second quake was "incredibly strong," Gil, 43, recalled from his hospital room where he is recovering after being rescued from the collapsed building.
Gil became a symbol of hope for Venezuela after surviving eight days buried alive by the double earthquake that devastated the northern region of the Caribbean country. The disaster has left more than 3,300 dead, with the United Nations estimating that as many as 50,000 people may still be unaccounted for.
During the quake, Gil heard a neighbor in the car park identify the tremor as an earthquake before "everything collapsed." He felt debris fall, with stones hitting the back of his head and eye as he froze inside his guard booth, overcome with nerves.
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