Colombia scrambles to find survivors as quake kills 132
Updated Aug. 11, 2026, 9:54 a.m. | By AFP At least 132 people have been killed and more than 570 injured after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western…
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Updated Aug. 11, 2026, 9:54 a.m. | By AFP
At least 132 people have been killed and more than 570 injured after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia. Volunteers and rescuers are searching through rubble with their bare hands and buckets for survivors after dozens of buildings collapsed.
Colombian volunteers and rescuers cleared rubble with their bare hands and buckets to search for survivors early Tuesday after the country's strongest earthquake in a decade killed at least 132 people and smashed dozens of buildings.
The 7.4-magnitude quake struck cities across Colombia's western region shortly after 7:30 am (1230 GMT), sending panicked residents onto the streets, AFP journalists saw.
The quake killed 132 people and injured more than 570 as of Monday afternoon, according to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, a group coordinating major cities across the country.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella -- just three days after being sworn into the job -- declared a state of emergency and vowed a concerted rescue effort.
De la Espriella said earlier the death toll was 111.
The city of Pereira, which was among those hit hardest, was mostly plunged into darkness amid power outages on Monday night as volunteers probed for signs of life under collapsed buildings.
"We're without power. This seems honestly like a zombie city," resident Juan David Gaitan told AFP.
Tattoo artist Andres Hernandez said he was worried about his family and friends, adding that he would stay awake because structures around him were "on the verge of collapsing."
Hernandez recalled being asleep at home when the quake happened and rushing into the street for safety, as the quake devastated the city in the heart of Colombia's coffee-growing region.
"It was a movie scene, because I saw the poles, the cables, everything moving. I'm worried about my family, my friends," he said.
There were scenes of destruction in several cities, with furniture and fabrics sandwiched between concrete, walls and floors tossed into irregular angles, and cabling strewn across roads.
In Manizales, the quake crumpled a tower of the city's beloved neo-Gothic cathedral.
In Quibdo, the capital of Colombia's Choco department, local official Jenny Rivas said public services and communications "have been virtually shut down."
"People ran out naked, people jumped from the second floor of their homes," Quibdo resident and law student Wilmer Cuesta recalled.
Dentist Julian Pena said he "ran outside carrying nothing" after feeling very strong shaking and found hundreds doing the same.
"People were praying in the street. It was overwhelming," he told AFP.
"There are many buildings with gaps, with cracks. There are others that have completely collapsed."
The quake was felt across Colombia, including the capital Bogota, where crowds rushed out into the street in their pyjamas.
At a depth of 110 kilometers (68 miles), the quake was also felt in neighboring Ecuador and Pan…