Volunteers remove rubble at the scene of a collapsed building in Pereira, Colombia, on Tuesday after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck a day earlier. Photo by Carlos Ortega/EPA
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Cali, the capital of Colombia's Valle del Cauca department, has become the center of rescue operations after a magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck the country Monday.
With the official death toll in the city reaching 75, more than 1,000 people injured and widespread infrastructure damage, Urban Search and Rescue teams are concentrating their efforts on searching 56 large buildings that collapsed or sustained severe structural damage, most of them in southern and central Cali.
"We have 24 hours left. At the end of that period, the first 72-hour window closes, although that does not mean there will not be survivors afterward, but it does become more difficult," Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder told Blu Radio.
Eder said rescue teams were searching eight locations where survivors could potentially be found, though he did not provide a figure for the number of people missing. He said 700 homes were affected, including 107 with structural damage.
