72-year-old man pulled from rubble 2 weeks after Ecuador earthquake

The death toll has surpassed 600.
 By 
Ariel Bogle
 on 
72-year-old man pulled from rubble 2 weeks after Ecuador earthquake
Bolivia's President Evo Morales, center, and his Ecuadorean counterpart Rafael Correa visit the heavily damaged El Tarqui sector of Manta, Ecuador, on April 27, 2016. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

A 72-year-old man has been found alive amid rubble in Ecuador almost two weeks after an earthquake devastated the country on April 16, according to the Venezuelan embassy in Quito. 

The man was rescued Friday local time by Venezuelan rescuers after they were alerted to sounds coming from a partially collapsed building in the town of Jaramijó, the embassy said on its website.


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The man, who was named as Manuel Vasquez, had kidney issues and serious injuries to his feet as well as "dehydration, malnutrition and disorientation" and is now being treated in a local hospital.

The Ecuadorian government has raised its death toll from the 7.8 magnitude quake to more than 659 people, with 29,000 left homeless. 

The country has been receiving aid from around the world in the days since the natural disaster, with help coming from China, Venezuela and Spain, among other countries.

The U.S. has provided $2.6 million in humanitarian assistance, according to the State Department. An airlift of 80 tons of supplies has been sent, as well as a team of disaster-response experts.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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Ariel Bogle

Ariel Bogle was an associate editor with Mashable in Australia covering technology. Previously, Ariel was associate editor at Future Tense in Washington DC, an editorial initiative between Slate and New America.

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