People wait as rescuers search for their relative amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia. [Luis Acosta/AFP]
By AFP and AP13 Aug 2026
Colombian rescuers are racing against time to find survivors of Monday’s powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake, as search operations stretch into a fourth day across the country’s west.
Authorities say at least 265 people have been killed and more than 3,500 injured, while close to 500 remain unaccounted for in the strongest quake to hit Colombia this century.
In the city of Pereira, crews are focusing on a collapsed bakery where they believe street vendor Pablo Loaiza may still be trapped.
Specialist teams using vibration sensors and sniffer dogs have reported intermittent signs that someone could be alive beneath the concrete.
Outside, relatives keep vigil. “My heart is about to burst out of my chest,” said his niece, 16-year-old Sara Loaiza.
Rescue workers in Cali and Pereira are digging through unstable rubble with cranes and hand tools, frequently ordering silence to listen for voices.
President Abelardo de la Espriella has declared an “economic emergency” and three days of national mourning, as thousands of people sleep outdoors in makeshift shelters and volunteers organise food, water and blood donations for the worst-hit communities.
A Mexican rescue worker searches through rubble two days after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia. [Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo]Patients from a clinic evacuated due to earthquake damage lie in beds at a temporary facility set up in a gymnasium at a nearby school in Cali. [Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo]Rescue efforts in Colombia following Monday’s devastating earthquake have entered what officials called the “final phase” as the death toll rose to 265, with more than 3,500 others wounded. [Raul Arboleda/AFP]Volunteers take part in a supply collection drive for the earthquake victims, at the Nemesio Camacho ‘El Campin’ stadium, in Bogota. [Esteban Vega La-Rotta/AFP]Rescue crews on Wednesday were fast approaching the 72-hour mark since the quake, the period during which survivors are considered most likely to be found alive beneath collapsed buildings. [Luis Acosta/AFP]The magnitude 7.4 earthquake was the strongest to hit Colombia this century. Nearly 500 people remain missing, according to local authorities, and more than 9,550 homes have been destroyed. [Fernando Vergara/AP Photo]People sleep in a park after their homes were damaged by an earthquake that struck Pereira, Colombia. [Fernando Vergara/AP Photo]Pereira, in the heart of Colombia’s coffee region, and Cali, the country’s third-largest city, reported 83 and 74 deaths, respectively. [Raul Arboleda/AFP]Rescue workers and volunteers remove rubble as they search for survivors at the site of collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Cali. [Raul Arboleda/AFP]
