Colombia quake rescue turns desperate as survivor toll rises and aid pours in

Rescuers across western Colombia are racing through rubble after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake. The narrowing survival window has deepened a humanitarian crisis shaped by poverty, conflict and displacement.Image used for representational purposes onlyThe search for survivors in Colombia’s earthquake-hit areas grew more desperate on Wednesday, two days after the 7.4-magnitude quake brought down buildings, buckled roads and crushed cars in the west of the country. By Tuesday, President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 181 people had died and 2,595 had been injured. He said 195 people were missing, though civilian-run databases put that number at more than 4,000 on Wednesday morning.The devastation has tested Colombia’s new president and his government as they scramble to respond to the disaster, while civil society has pushed to provide aid to the most vulnerable communities. Rescue teams continued to search through the rubble overnight in the worst-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, as the time to find victims alive continued to narrow. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours crucial for pulling out survivors, though that window can be longer if those trapped have access to food and water.There were brief moments of hope amid the destruction. In Pereira, rescuers pulled Daniela Largo alive from the rubble late on Tuesday after a complex 12-hour operation. Crews cut a small opening through the debris to free her pinned arm, while a doctor gave her IV fluids to stabilise her. Wrapped in a blue blanket, she was then carried to a waiting ambulance as firefighters embraced and onlookers cheered. Across the coffee-growing region, one of the areas worst affected by the quake, authorities turned sports arenas, schools and other public buildings into temporary shelters for thousands of displaced people. In Pereira and Cali, families slept in parks, with some afraid of aftershocks or further collapse of damaged homes, and others left with no homes to return to.“We have the most important things: a roof over our heads, food, water and, in my case, medical care,” said Edith Penagos, 48, who was staying with her teenage son in one of the white tents set up in a Pereira park after the earthquake forced them out of their apartment. In many places, the official response has been complicated by deep poverty and civil conflict that has caused waves of forced displacement for decades. “This earthquake compounds an already severe humanitarian situation, and there is a need for increased support for the humanitarian response,” said Giovanni Rizzo, Colombia director for the Norwegian Refugee Council. Many aid organisations were already present in the area around the quake’s epicentre, supporting a 2016 peace accord between the government and leftist rebels, and responding to violence involving other armed groups that has continued since then, especially in Choco. That allowed humanitarian workers to quickly shift to disaster relief, said Mara Jos Torres, the UN resident coordinator in Colombia. “We have a presence on the ground. Therefore, our ability to be there, present with the people, I think, has increased exponentially,” Torres said in a statement on Tuesday.International assistance also continued to arrive. The US has offered more than USD 15 million in aid, while Mexico’s president said she was prepared to send hundreds of search and health workers, tonnes of medical supplies and other equipment. On Tuesday afternoon, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said his country would send two planes carrying 100 tonnes of aid in the coming days. “Our prayers are with the families of the victims, the wounded and all the Colombian people,” Bukele wrote on X. As rescue work continued, the earthquake left Colombia facing a growing humanitarian challenge, with authorities, aid groups and foreign partners trying to reach survivors and support those displaced. With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 12, 2026 21:04 IST