Survivor found 8 days after devastating Venezuela earthquakes

Rescue crews pulled a man from the rubble of a collapsed mall more than one week after a pair of devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela.

Hernan Alberto Gil, 44, a guard at the Galerias Playa Grande shopping center, was rescued on July 2 after being trapped about 30 feet underground since the quakes on June 24. A day earlier, Alberto Gil was seen talking to rescuers as they tried to reach him amid the rubble in La Guaira, one of the worst-affected regions.

The earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, struck within one minute of each other on June 24, sending buildings tumbling and killing more than 2,200 people. Search and rescue operations are ongoing as thousands more are believed to be unaccounted for.

Alberto Gil's wife, Usbimar Gonzales, told CNN she had undergone "days of great sorrow" before the rescue, fearing for days that he might be among the dead.

"But once I found out that he was alive I saw a ray of sunshine,” she said. “He was holding up like a hero.”

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said work to free Alberto Gil has been ongoing since June 29, but it required digging tunnels because of the instability of the remains of the building, which experienced collapses. Rescuers were able to supply Alberto Gil with fluids to keep him hydrated, Bukele said.

Alberto Gil was taken away by ambulance after being freed.

Contributing: Reuters