Miami firefighters help rescue man buried in rubble for 8 days after earthquake

Sonia Osorio and Ana Claudia Chacin, Miami Herald on Jul 2, 2026

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A team of South Florida fire departments led by the City of Miami Fire Rescue along with other international groups helped rescue Hernán Alberto Flores Gil on Thursday, a man who had been trapped under tons of rubble for eight days after the back to back earthquakes in Venezuela.

The City of Miami said that the South Florida teams worked nonstop for 53 hours using their extensive expertise and high-tech equipment to free the man.

“Today, all of Miami has reason to be proud,” said Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins in a statement.

USAR Florida Task Force 2 (FL-TF2) deployed 80 highly trained personnel from various municipalities across South Florida to the South American country.

“On behalf of the City of Miami, I want to thank every member of Miami Fire Rescue and the entire South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team for representing our city and our country. You have shown the world what Miami stands for: courage in the face of adversity, selfless service, and an unshakable commitment to saving lives wherever help is needed,” said Higgins.

The rescue was part of an international effort with rescue groups from El Salvador, Chile, Costa Rica, Portugal, and the U.S. The mission started on Monday at 10 a.m.

The president of El Salvador, Najib Bukele, has been posting on social media about Flores Gil since at least Tuesday. He shared videos and updates about the mission that have gone viral.

“Our teams have managed to reach 44-year-old Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, who remains trapped in the rubble at the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center,” Bukele wrote Tuesday. “Contact has been established; he is currently being supplied with water through a hose while rescue efforts continue.”

On Wednesday Bukele shared that the difficulty teams were facing was that he was trapped under a nine floor structure that was extremely unstable. The tunnel they had dug to get to him suffered damages and rescuers had to begin to open up a new tunnel parallel to the first one. Still, they maintained contact with Flores Gil throughout.

Thursday, Bukele joined the chorus of other users on social media celebrating the man’s rescue.

In his post he said in part, “We extend our admiration and recognition to all the rescuers who participated in this operation, as well as to Hernán, whose strength and resilience over the course of more than seven days were extraordinary. Medical professionals are currently assessing his condition so that he can be transferred to a hospital and continue receiving the care he needs.”