The death toll from the earthquake that hit Colombia on Monday morning has risen to 224, local authorities said on Tuesday, SABC News reports.
The powerful earthquake struck western Colombia early on Monday, knocking down buildings across several cities and leaving others trapped in the rubble.
The quake struck just days after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela in June.
The 7.4 magnitude quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, struck at a depth of 107 km near San Jose del Palmar, in Choco, a sparsely populated province on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, but was felt in major cities nationwide.
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10:34
Rescue efforts across western Colombia carried into a second day on Tuesday as emergency workers dug through collapsed buildings and flattened homes, amid expectations that the death toll from the country's most powerful earthquake in decades could rise, Reuters reports.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake tore through Colombia's coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, killing at least 164 people.
The quake reduced multi-story buildings to rubble in cities such as Pereira and Cali, and cracked apart one of the towers of a historic cathedral in the city of Manizales.
Emergency teams aided by police, soldiers and volunteers worked through the night with excavators and, at times, their bare hands, hunting for survivors beneath debris.
In Cali, home to about 2.2 million people, at least 85 people were killed. Dozens of buildings were left leaning precariously or destroyed outright, forcing residents into the streets.
Several of the top floors of one of the city's hospitals - some dedicated to pediatric care - collapsed upon themselves, leaving some patients trapped and forcing some 600 others to be tended to on a street strewn with rubble, hospital director Irne Torres Castro told Caracol television.
Carmen Yasmin Garcia, 43, a Cali resident volunteering with rescue teams, said on Monday afternoon that her group had freed seven people from a collapsed building, but four others and a dog remained trapped.
"A moment ago there was scratching but now we can't hear anything, we still have faith that the dog is alive and we can get these people out," Garcia said. "We need people with sticks and spades, the more people lending a hand the better."
In Pereira, capital of the hard-hit state of Risaralda, authorities reported 66 dead.
The city also bore some of the most visible destruction, with entire residential blocks reduced to piles of concrete and twisted steel. Video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed the city's airport violently swaying during the quake, with large chunks of the ceiling collapsing as people sheltered.
Another 13 people died in Choco, the rural province closest to the quake's epicenter.
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05:03
At least 132 people were killed and 570 more injured following a powerful earthquake that struck western Colombia on August 10, the local BluRadio radio broadcaster informed, APA reports.
According to BluRadio, a red level danger alert has been issued in 32 cities across the country and it indicates widespread damage inflicted by the natural calamity on their territory.
***22:39 / 10.08
Death toll from Colombia earthquake rises to at least 111, with hundreds of buildings damaged, president says, APA reports citing AP.
***19:19
At least 18 people have died as a result of the earthquake in the Colombian city of Pereira, the city's mayor, Mauricio Salazar, said on Caracol radio, APA reports.
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18:50
Twelve people have died in the city of Manizales as a result of the earthquake, the city's mayor, Jorge Rojas, told Blu Radio, APA reports.
According to him, 10 buildings in Manizales were completely destroyed, while more than 20 residential buildings were partially damaged.
In addition, two hospitals, as well as a number of schools and churches, were damaged.
According to local media, citing rescuers, one person was killed and 10 others were injured in the Chocó Department.
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18:30
New information has been released regarding the consequences of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck western Colombia, the city's mayor said, APA reports.
At least 20 buildings are reported to have collapsed in Cali as a result of the earthquake, with some people trapped under the rubble.
Rescue and emergency services continue searching for people trapped under the rubble.
The scale of the incident and the number of those affected are being clarified.
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17:17
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake was recorded Monday in western Colombia, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with tremors felt in several cities across the country, CNN reports.
The epicenter was located in San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, about 280 kilometers west of Bogotá, at a depth of 107 kilometers at 7:34 a.m. (local time, 8:34 a.m. Miami time), the USGS reported.
In the nation’s capital, the tremor was felt strongly, alarms sounded, and in many buildings people evacuated to the streets as a precaution. “At this time there are no reports of injuries or structural damage, only some cracks in buildings,” Bogotá Mayor Carlos Galán said on X.
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