Colombia quake: Frantic search for survivors as over 2,700 reported missing

Rescuers are searching through collapsed buildings in western Colombia for survivors after the country’s strongest earthquake this century killed at least 132 people and caused widespread devastation, according to local media.

Emergency teams in the worst affected cities, including Cali and Pereira, have been working through the night and into Tuesday, listening for signs of life and trying to reach people trapped beneath concrete and debris during the magnitude 7.4 earthquake. The Choco region west of Cali and Pereira has also been impacted, but the extent of the damage is still not clear.

Authorities have warned that the death toll from Monday’s quake could rise as search teams reach more affected areas in a big challenge for newly elected far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella.

Dozens of people were killed in Cali, located 280km (175 miles) southwest of the capital, Bogota. On Monday President De la Espriella said 35 people were killed in the city. Dozens of buildings were left leaning precariously or destroyed outright, forcing residents into ‌the streets in the city of about 2.2 million people.

Local authorities farther north in the Risaralda region, where Pereira is located, said the death toll included at least 40 people killed there. Authorities also confirmed nine people killed in the Choco region, two in the Caldas region and a 73-year-old in the Antioquia region.

At least 87 people were initially reported injured, but de la Espriella later reported 700 injured in Valle del Cauca alone.

More than 2,700 people had been reported missing on citizen-run websites by Monday night although that figure does not necessarily represent the number of people confirmed missing.

About 1,600 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, including the towers of a historic cathedral in the city of Manizales.