Rescuers race to find Colombia earthquake survivors as death toll rises

▶ Watch Video: Emergency crews in Colombia desperately search for earthquake survivors

Rescue workers and volunteers rushed to clear rubble as they searched for survivors in Colombia on Tuesday after the country was struck by its strongest earthquake on record.

At least 181 people died and 1,595 were injured in the earthquake, according to the country’s president, Abelardo de la Espriella.

De la Espriella said 195 people were reported missing. Civilian-run databases suggest the number of missing could be as high as 3,900. Many families posted information about loved ones online, hoping for information about their fate.

Over 1,100 homes across the country were destroyed, and over 8,300 damaged, de la Espriella said. Rescue workers and volunteers were seen clearing rubble by hand in some places.

The 7.4 magnitude quake struck cities across Colombia’s western region shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time Monday, sending panicked residents onto the streets.

Electricity was all but gone in the hardest-hit city of Pereira, with a population of over half a million.

Many residents spent the night sleeping on the street, fearing more deadly aftershocks, or because their homes had sustained damage.

“Since yesterday we’ve been wondering what will become of our lives,” 38-year-old housewife Gloria Giraldo, whose neighborhood had tumbled around her, told French news agency AFP.

The city was plunged into darkness Monday evening as volunteers combed through the remains of collapsed buildings searching for survivors.

Throughout the night, residents navigated blacked-out streets with torches.

Volunteers searched the ruins of a six-story building of shops and offices where two girls were believed to be trapped.

“It’s so sad to see the whole city like this, knowing that there may still be people alive under there,” said Juana Marin, 25, who joined dozens of volunteers clearing rubble by hand.

“We’re without power. This seems honestly like a zombie city,” resident Juan David Gaitan said.

At the airport in Pereira, videos showed pieces of ceiling falling down on travelers taking shelter and screaming, and people running through rubble in a panic.

De la Espriella, who had been on the job for only three days, declared a state of emergency and vowed a concerted rescue effort.

“Someone whistled back”

In Cali, volunteers quickly went to work with picks, basic tools and their own hands to try to find survivors.

Rescuers formed human chains to remove bricks and masonry, stopping every few minutes to listen for signs of life from those trapped below.

Andres Felipe Mejia was among those who joined a makeshift crew.

“One of the rescuers asked anyone trapped to whistle, and someone whistled back,” he said near a pancaked building.

“They pulled out a man and a baby, but the wife is still in there,” he said.

Hospitals in five Colombian cities were put on red alert Monday and a nighttime curfew was declared in Cali, according to local authorities.

“It felt like the end of the world — cars and motorcycles driving the wrong way, everyone searching for their loved ones,” said volunteer rescue worker Nelson Moreno.

Dana Carolina Zamora posted an image of her missing 60-year-old uncle, Miguel Ángel Zamora, cradling his dog. The farmer was living in a rural area of El Cairo, not far from the quake’s epicenter in San Jose Del Palmar.

“We are afraid. We hope that is not the case, that he is all right and that it is only a communication failure. But we haven’t heard anything from him,” Zamora said.

De la Espriella announced Monday night that he had mobilized “the entire military and police apparatus” to respond to the temblor.

World responds to Colombia earthquake

The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV is “deeply saddened” by the earthquake.

“The Holy Father, deeply saddened to learn the painful news of the earthquake that has seriously affected several areas of Colombia … offers prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased and raises his prayers to the Lord for the prompt recovery of those affected by this tragedy,” the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pietro Parolin, wrote in a note to the archbishop of Cartagena, Francisco Javier Munera Correa.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media post on Monday that the Trump administration was closely monitoring the earthquake response and “stands ready to support the people of Colombia.” The U.S. announced $15.5 million in emergency relief.

South Florida organizations are among U.S.-based humanitarian groups mobilizing to send aid to Colombia.

“There’s a lot of damage, and we are waiting for information as to what the needs are. The first is rescue and recovery,” Fabio Andrade, a Weston city commissioner and a Colombian American, told CBS News Miami.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had mobilized Copernicus, a satellite service, to help with rescue operations.

Israel, Mexico, Ecuador and France also offered assistance.