Colombia Earthquake: Residents Dig Through Rubble for Survivors After Deadly 7.4 Quake
A powerful 7.4 earthquake in western Colombia has killed at least 111 people, prompting frantic rescue efforts in Cali and other cities.
Residents of Cali, Colombia, joined rescue workers on Monday in a desperate search for survivors trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings, following a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the country's west.
Video footage from the scene showed volunteers carefully removing debris from a destroyed structure, pausing periodically to raise their fists and call for silence as they listened for signs of life. Elsewhere, dazed schoolchildren, covered in dust, were seen hugging and crying before being led away from the area by teachers.
The quake, which struck early Monday morning, has killed at least 111 people and injured 87 others, according to Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. The president declared an emergency to expedite funding for recovery efforts, vowing, "We aren't going to leave people alone. They are in our hearts and we are going to tend to people with our full determination."
The U.S. Geological Survey placed the epicenter in San Jose Del Palmar, a small community of roughly 4,800 people in the Choco region, about 400 kilometers west of Bogota. The tremors were felt across a wide area, including the cities of Pereira, Quibdo, Cali, and Manizales, and were even detected in neighboring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.
Colombia's interior minister stated that more than 20 municipalities were affected by the disaster. With hundreds of buildings damaged and many people still unaccounted for, the focus remains on the grim task of searching through the wreckage.