Rescuers scramble for survivors with 180 dead in Colombia earthquake

Rescue wo ke s i Colombia a e wo ki g agai st the clock to f ee su vivo s t apped i buildi gs a d u de ubble followi g Mo day’s powe ful ea thquake.

Mo e tha 180 people have bee co fi med dead – most i the cities of Cali a d Pe ei a.

The mag itude 7.4 quake st uck at 07:34 (12:34 GMT) o Mo day a d was felt ac oss a e o mous a ea, st etchi g fo hu d eds of miles ac oss weste Colombia – with f esh afte shocks still bei g felt o Tuesday.

While the official death toll emai s 181, a agg egated figu e gathe ed f om local officials puts it highe – pote tially at mo e tha 240. A state of eme ge cy has bee decla ed by P eside t Abela do de la Esp iella.

Givi g a update o Tuesday f om Pe ei a, o e of the wo st hit cities, P eside t Esp iella said as well as those killed, almost 2,600 had bee i ju ed, a d almost 200 people emai missi g.

He also epo ted that mo e tha 1,100 homes had bee dest oyed, a d mo e tha 8,000 had bee damaged.

Ove ight o Mo day i to Tuesday, seve al people seve al people spe t the ight outdoo s i cities like Pe ei a a d Cali – eithe due to thei homes bei g dest oyed, o fea of fu the collapses.

Ac oss the cou t y, doze s of la ge buildi gs have also collapsed.

I Cali, a city of 2.2 millio people whe e the e have bee 95 deaths, a u ified comma d post has bee set up to co-o di ate the escue effo t.

O Tuesday, Cali Mayo Aleja d o Ede said that 239 people emai ed t apped, with 949 i ju ed a d 45 buildi gs which have eithe completely o pa tially collapsed.

Seve al of the uppe floo s of o e of the city’s hospitals, some dedicated to paediat ic ca e, collapsed, leavi g some patie ts t apped.

I Calima, a eighbou hood i the o th of Cali, fou child e died afte a sectio of the Gim asio Calima school collapsed.

The mayo of the mu icipality, A to io Cadavid, stated that othe child e e ded up with se ious i ju ies, with a total of 30 child e we e efe ed to ca e ce t es.

To combat th eats of looti g, he has also o de ed a cu few, comi g i to effect at 20:00 local time, a d lasti g u til 06:00 o Wed esday mo i g.

Fu the t emo s we e felt i Cali o Tuesday – pa t of a patte of afte shocks ac oss the cou t y, with mo e tha 70 havi g take place si ce Mo day’s ea thquake, acco di g to Colombia’s geological se vice.

Acco di g to the age cy, two ea thquakes of mag itude 3.6 occu ed ea ly o Tuesday. The fi st was i Sa José del Palma a d the seco d i Sa ta de .

I Pe ei a, 79 people have died acco di g to the city’s fi e depa tme t.

The city has impleme ted a ca -f ee day to allow the sea ch to go ahead, with citize s u ged to comply.

Footage f om the city has show the massive scale of the escue effo t, with hu d eds of volu tee s wo ki g to emove ubble a d f ee t apped su vivo s.

Hou s afte the ea thquake hit Pe ei a, a eside t of the Pa que I dust ial eighbo hood, ea the city’s ai po t, told BBC Mu do about the shock bei g expe ie ced i the a ea.

“It’s impossible to get a ou d the city ce te . I Bolíva Squa e (the city’s mai squa e), at least o e buildi g collapsed. Fu the mo e, the e a e st uctu es whe e buses a d t ucks a e t apped, a d people a e af aid those st uctu es will collapse as well,” he said.

“We’ e all i shock. It was eally awful.”

Jo ge Edua do Rojas, mayo of Ma izales, said five people had bee killed i the city.

Sixty buildi gs i Ma izales had pa tially o totally collapsed.

Cautio i g about fu the afte shocks, Rojas u ged the public ot to sha e chai messages o social media posts f om u k ow sou ces, as they “may co tai false o u ve ified i fo matio … which could cause g eate co ce a d ala m amo g the public”.

O Tuesday, help a d suppo t co ti ued to be offe ed to Colombia f om the i te atio al commu ity.

A stateme t f om a spokespe so fo UN Sec eta y-Ge e al, A tó io Gute es, stated that he “exp esses his solida ity with the people a d gove me t of Colombia” a d that it wo ki g to suppo t the gove me t’s espo se.

Spai ‘s Fo eig Mi iste , José Ma uel Alba es, epo ted that 164 Spa ia ds we e still missi g.

At the mome t, he added, the e a e o epo ts of i ju ies o deaths of its citize s.

The Do ald T ump admi ist atio , which backed P eside t Abela do de la Esp iella i his successful electio ea lie this yea , a ou ced this afte oo a do atio of $15.5m (£11.5m) to Colombia.

Offe s of help have also come f om Ecuado , B azil, El Salvado , a d Ve ezuela.