Rescue teams in the city of Cali continued searching for survivors beneath the rubble of buildings after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, killing at least 132 people and injuring 570, while at least 188 people remained missing.
An evening update issued by the Association of Colombian Capitals said the death toll was expected to rise, as newly elected President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a national disaster, while search-and-rescue operations continued.
Widespread damage and collapsed buildings
The city of Pereira alone reported 60 deaths, while 86 buildings collapsed across the country and more than 1,600 buildings were damaged by the earthquake.
The US Geological Survey located the earthquake’s epicentre near the town of San Jose del Palmar in the department of Choco, 400 kilometres west of Bogota, at a depth of 107 kilometres. The earthquake is considered the strongest tremor to hit Colombia in the 21st century.
Manual search among Cali’s rubble
In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city by population after Bogota and Medellin, residents and rescuers moved cautiously among damaged concrete blocks and steel sections on Monday, 10 August 2026.
Footage showed people lifting rubble with their hands and passing it along human chains, while injured survivors were carried away from the destruction sites and ambulances gathered around the collapsed buildings.
Baby rescued and patients evacuated
Rescue teams managed to pull a six-month-old baby girl and her mother from beneath the rubble of a five-storey building. Patients were also evacuated from a hospital after part of its structure collapsed.
As search operations continued, Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder issued an urgent appeal to Bogota and Medellin for help.
