A rescue team member searches for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 11, 2026. Photo / Jaime Saldarriaga, AFP
Colombian volunteers cleared rubble by hand through the night in the hunt for survivors from an earthquake that killed at least 240 people and levelled more than a hundred homes and office buildings.
The quake struck several cities across Colombia’s coffee region and Pacific belt at 7.34am local time Monday,
toppling structures, swaying towers and tossing roof tiles to the ground.
Pereira, a city of half a million people, was the hardest hit.
Throughout the night, residents navigated blacked-out streets with torches.
Volunteers searched the ruins of a six-storey 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.
This was Colombia’s strongest earthquake in a century, according to the US Geological Survey, and one of its deadliest natural disasters in years.
In a joint statement, the mayors of major affected cities said at least 181 had been killed, and more than 1300 people had been injured.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella – just days into the job – declared a state of emergency and vowed a concerted rescue effort.
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.
“We are trying to get everyone out alive,” he told AFP.
“One of the rescuers asked anyone trapped to whistle, and someone whistled back,” he said near a pancaked building.