Rescue teams in Colombia are racing to reach people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble, four days after a powerful earthquake struck the country, killing at least 287 people and leaving nearly 400 others missing.
In Cali, rescue workers continued searching a collapsed residential building after detecting sounds from beneath the debris, raising hopes that survivors could still be rescued.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake, which struck shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Monday, had its epicentre in San José del Palmar in Chocó province. It damaged or destroyed homes, apartment buildings, schools and hospitals across western Colombia, including Cali, Pereira and the Pacific port city of Buenaventura.
Authorities said nearly 4,000 people had been injured, while tens of thousands of homes were damaged, forcing many residents to seek shelter or remain outdoors because of fears that damaged buildings could collapse.
Rescue Efforts Continue
Volunteers and emergency workers have been searching through the rubble for survivors and recovering personal belongings, including photographs, letters and jewellery, to preserve them until their owners or relatives can be located.
Rescuers were also focused on a collapsed hotel in Pereira where they initially hoped to find survivors. Among those feared trapped was 24-year-old Juan Felipe Giraldo, who was due to get married that weekend. His body was later recovered from the rubble.
Aid workers said affected communities urgently need essential supplies, including diapers, medicine and pet food.
The United Nations refugee agency warned that the disaster could worsen displacement in Colombia, a country already facing conflict, migration and humanitarian challenges.
Reconstruction Begins
Officials said the earthquake has left many families homeless and warned that continued aftershocks were making rescue operations dangerous.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said more than 9 million people in Colombia already depend on humanitarian assistance, with about 10% living in areas badly affected by the earthquake.
Experts estimate that rebuilding could cost around 20 trillion Colombian pesos ($6 billion), equivalent to about 1% of the country's gross domestic product.
Construction officials said some of the buildings that collapsed may have been old structures built before modern earthquake-resistant construction standards were introduced.
President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office only days before the disaster, visited affected areas and pledged that reconstruction would continue regardless of political or ideological differences.
Speaking in Quibdó, the capital of Chocó province, he promised greater investment in communities that had long been neglected.
“We are all rebuilding Colombia together,” the president said.
The government has received international assistance, including rescue teams and supplies from several countries, as emergency operations continue across the earthquake-hit region.
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