Colombia quake kills at least 224 as rescuers race the clock

The first rescue window is narrowing

Rescue crews worked through collapsed buildings across western Colombia on Tuesday after a magnitude-7.4 earthquake killed at least 224 people. The quake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time Monday near San José del Palmar in Chocó, and the toll was expected to rise as teams reached isolated communities.aljazeera +1

Firefighters, soldiers, volunteers and relatives searched rubble in Cali and Pereira, at times stopping machinery to listen for signs of life. Four people were pulled from one collapsed building, while crews in Pereira made contact with a boy trapped beneath a bakery. Specialists say the first 48 to 72 hours generally offer the best chance of finding survivors.aljazeera

Damage stretches from hospitals to remote towns

The disaster disrupted hospitals, roads, power, telecommunications and water systems in the hardest-hit areas. Seven airports suspended operations for inspections, three hospitals collapsed and 18 others were affected, while an estimated 5,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, President Abelardo de la Espriella said.nbcnews

The epicentral region presents a separate logistical challenge. Much of Chocó, one of Colombia’s poorest departments, can be reached only by boat or aircraft, and disrupted phone service has complicated efforts to establish the scale of destruction.npr +1 In Cali, damaged hospital floors forced hundreds of patients into the street, while residents formed human chains to move concrete and bricks by hand.aljazeera

Citizen-run databases listed more than 2,700 people as missing by Monday night, though that figure was not an official count of confirmed missing people. Colombian authorities also recorded at least 21 aftershocks by late Monday, adding urgency and danger to inspections of unstable buildings.aljazeera

Emergency aid begins to mobilize

De la Espriella declared a national disaster and said the government’s immediate priority was reaching people trapped under debris. Curfews were imposed in several cities to clear streets for emergency work, and engineers, search dogs, police and military units were deployed to affected areas.aljazeera +1

The United States committed $15.5 million for shelter, food, protection and damage assessments, while the European Union activated its Copernicus satellite service to assist rescue operations.nbcnews +1 United Nations teams were coordinating with Colombia’s disaster agency and assessing needs; the World Food Programme, Pan American Health Organization and International Organization for Migration said they were prepared to support the response.un

The emergency is also an early test for De la Espriella, who took office only days before the quake. With remote communities still difficult to reach and buildings unstable after repeated tremors, the immediate priority remains finding survivors before the most critical search period closes.npr +1