New Delhi, July 2 -- A 43-year-old security guard was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed shopping center in Venezuela on Thursday (July 2), marking a rare moment of hope eight days after twin earthquakes devastated the country and killed more than 2,200 people.

Hernan Alberto Gil Flores was rescued from the basement of the Galerias Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal state of La Guaira after spending more than a week trapped beneath the debris.

The dramatic rescue concluded a complex operation that lasted over 100 hours after emergency crews first established contact with him over the weekend.

Rescue teams worked around the clock through torrential rain, repeated aftershocks and an unstable concrete structure to reach ...