A Costa Rican rescue team made up of members of the Red Cross and Fire Department rescued a Venezuelan man alive Thursday after he spent eight days trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed seven-story building following the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela.

The survivor, identified as Hernan Gil, 43, was found buried beneath the debris after twin earthquakes measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 rocked the country.

According to the Costa Rican Red Cross, Gil was working the night shift as a security guard at the building in the Catia La Mar district when part of the structure collapsed, trapping him inside his security booth beneath the rubble.

"When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn't make it," Costa Rican rescuer Minyar Collado said. "We were never going to leave him there."

Rescuers worked around the clock for days to free Gil from the wreckage.

During the operation, the team used a telescopic camera to communicate with him, delivered water through a hose, and inserted an oxygen tube through the debris. Those measures helped keep him alive well beyond the 48- to 72-hour survival window that rescuers generally consider critical after major building collapses.

The final phase of the rescue took place Thursday morning. About 30 rescuers from the United States, Chile, Mexico and other countries cleared debris from the building's parking area while two Costa Rican rescuers dug a three-meter tunnel to reach the trapped man.

As rescue efforts transition into recovery operations, Venezuela's death toll continues to rise.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said Wednesday that at least 2,295 people had been confirmed dead. More than 11,000 others were injured, nearly 60,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and approximately 13,000 people were left homeless, according to government figures. Tens of thousands of people also remain missing.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the disaster began on Wednesday, June 24, when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck at approximately 6:04 p.m. local time. The epicenter was located about 16 miles from the city of San Felipe in Venezuela's Yaracuy State. Less than a minute later, a stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck about 19 miles from the same city of approximately 220,000 residents.

The following morning, Costa Rican President Laura Fernández spoke by telephone with Acting President Rodríguez to express the solidarity of the Costa Rican people and reaffirm Costa Rica's commitment to assist Venezuela during the emergency.