Colombia searches for over 3,000 missing after a powerful quake kills more than 170

PEREIRA, Colombia (AP) — Search and rescue efforts resumed Tuesday in dozens of cities and towns in western Colombia after a powerful earthquake left over 3,000 missing, with many trapped under the debris.

Mayors and governors from Cali, Pereira, Choco and Manizales said Tuesday at least 179 people had died in those four areas; the federal government, which last updated its estimates in the hours after the 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Monday, has said at least 111 died.

Around 1,600 buildings across the region have been reported damaged or collapsed. Soldiers, rescue personnel and families picked through the rubble, passing large pieces of concrete by hand along lines of volunteers.

Standing near the remains of his brother’s collapsed apartment building in Pereira, Jairo Vargas said he made the 220-kilometer (135-mile) drive from Medellin, hoping to find his brother alive.

“I’m absolutely certain he’s here. Absolutely certain,” Vargas said, adding that his brother’s car is parked outside. But he fears his sibling did not survive.

“The debris surrounding my brother is soft,” he said as heavy machinery rumbled through the debris. “It’s possible that it’s protecting him, but we can’t hear any noises anymore. I don’t know. I have little hope.”

Choco, the region surrounding the quake’s epicenter, is one of Colombia’s poorest and most neglected regions, often beset by warring armed groups. Much of Choco is accessible only by boat, through the jungle or by airplane. Little was known about the extent of damage there.

President Abelardo De la Espriella, who was inaugurated just days earlier, traveled to Choco’s capital, Quibdo, on Monday night and announced he was mobilizing “the entire military and police apparatus” to respond, deploying engineers, rescue workers and search dogs.

“Choco will never again be the ‘land of the forgotten,’” he said.

The earthquake presents the first major test for de la Espriella, who is a divisive figure because of his pledge to crack down on criminal groups in the Andean nation.

Families posted information about missing loved ones on citizen-run websites.

Dana Carolina Zamora posted an image of her missing 60-year-old uncle, Miguel Ángel Zamora, cradling his dog. The farmer was living in a rural area of El Cairo, not far from the quake’s epicenter in San Jose Del Palmar.

Local authorities said 80% of El Cairo, a town of about 7,000 people, was damaged. Zamora said her uncle lived in a traditional house of sticks and mud.

“We are afraid. We hope that is not the case, that he is all right and that it is only a communication failure. But we haven’t heard anything from him,” Zamora said.

The earthquake left many people unnerved after back-to-back quakes devastated neighboring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 6,300 people.

Mónica Sánchez owns a small company that makes work uniforms. Her home city, Pereira, was one of the worst hit, and a wall inside the factory collapsed. Sánchez and her 12 workers got outside just in time.

“It was shocking — the city fell down around us,” she said.

Pereira’s municipal government said at least 58 buildings collapsed, while Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said at least 40 buildings had collapsed.

Both cities enforced curfews Monday night to prevent looting. And in Pereira, the city government has banned privately owned vehicles from circulating, to clear the way for ambulances, police and rescue workers.

The US State Department has announced it would provide $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food and other aid. Governments across Latin America have also lined up to help.

“This has been a tragedy for the whole city, for thousands of families,” Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local media, his voice quavering. “But here we are, and we will continue forward with the hand of God.”

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