Rescuers, soldiers and volunteers searched through collapsed apartment blocks and office buildings Tuesday across western Colombia, racing to find survivors after the country's strongest earthquake in a century killed at least 241 people and left many more homeless.In Pereira and Cali, families slept in parks as aftershocks rattled damaged neighborhoods where entire blocks had been reduced to rubble.
Emergency crews used cranes, dogs and heavy machinery to search ruined buildings while volunteers formed human chains to clear debris by hand, hoping to reach people still trapped beneath collapsed structures.
The 7.4-magnitude quake injured more than 1,670 people, according to a tally by municipal authorities.
It overwhelmed parts of the health system, turning the rescue effort into one of Colombia's largest disaster responses in years.
"The house came down on top of us. I wasn't able to get out," said Beatriz Arcos, who was trapped with her husband and mother beneath their collapsed condominium.
