Venezuela earthquake survivor pulled out alive after eight days

A man has been rescued alive after being trapped for eight days in the rubble of a building that collapsed after twin earthquakes in Venezuela.

Emergency workers managed to free Hernán Gil more than 100 hours after they had first located him under 140 tonnes of rubble, the BBC reported.

Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodríguez visited Gil in hospital on Thursday, calling him a "living miracle" in a video shared on social media.

As of Thursday evening, 2,595 people are confirmed to have died in the quakes which hit Venezuela on 24 June, and tens of thousands are still missing.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Rodríguez called the earthquakes "a natural tragedy on a scale we never imagined".

She rejected criticism that her government had reacted too slowly, saying that thousands of officials had been deployed after the quakes.

"We've done everything in our power, and we'll continue to do everything in our power and more," Rodríguez told journalists.