‘NOT ALONE’:
Colombians are helping one another, bringing food, water and other necessities to affected neighborhoods, with many lining up to donate blood
Colombia’s disaster relief chief vowed to find the hundreds of people still missing after a massive earthquake, as rescuers dug through rubble early yesterday following the end of a critical lifesaving period.The strongest quake to hit Colombia this century devastated the western cities of Cali and Pereira, and destroyed nearly 13,000 homes across the coffee-growing region and along the coast.The magnitude 7.4 tremor struck on Monday, killing 281 people and injuring almost 4,000, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said, adding that 379 others remained missing.
Rescue workers remove rubble from a building following the earthquake in Cali, Colombia, on Thursday.
Rescuers had little hope of finding more survivors, who are typically saved in the first 72 hours after an earthquake.David Tamayo, head of Colombia’s disaster relief agency, acknowledged that the “likelihood of finding survivors is going to diminish.”
