Overview
- The Costa Rican Red Cross confirmed late Thursday that rescuers freed Hernán Alberto Gil Flores from the collapsed Galerías Playa Grande and transferred him to a Venezuelan Red Cross ambulance for hospital care.
- Teams reported the extraction required about 114 continuous hours of work by specialist search-and-rescue units from several countries, with coordination led by urban rescue teams and Red Cross specialists.
- Gil survived inside the shopping-center guard booth, which formed a small protective void, and rescuers kept contact with him while sending water, food and medical aid through narrow channels.
- Responders moved slowly because aftershocks, heavy rain and an unstable structure risked triggering further collapse, so crews stabilized the site, opened a safe access route and excavated a tunnel to reach him.
- The rescue stands out in a wider humanitarian crisis after the June 24 earthquakes that left thousands dead and injured and it may bolster focused, late search efforts while relief teams continue long-term aid and recovery work.