Colombia rescuers race against time as quake death toll tops 130

More than 130 people have been killed after Colombia was struck by its strongest earthquake in decades, with the government declaring a state of emergency as rescue teams searched collapsed buildings for survivors.

At least 132 people died in the magnitude 7.4 earthquake, President Abelardo de la Espriella said during a crisis meeting Monday afternoon. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise as rescuers continue searching through the rubble, with many people feared trapped beneath collapsed structures.

The earthquake struck at about 7:34 a.m. local time (12:34 p.m. GMT), according to the Colombian Geological Service, known as the SGC. Its epicenter was near the town of San José del Palmar in western Colombia, at a depth of about 103 kilometers (64 miles).

The powerful tremor was followed by numerous aftershocks, further complicating rescue efforts and raising concerns about additional building collapses.

Emergency crews were deployed across affected areas as authorities assessed the scale of the destruction and worked to reach people trapped under the debris.

“The first priority is rescuing people buried under the rubble,” de la Espriella said, adding that the government was mobilizing all available resources.

At a later news conference in Cali, south of the epicenter, de la Espriella said 188 people were missing in the city, while 35 had been killed and about 700 injured. He said three hospitals and about 40 buildings had collapsed entirely.

Another 400 soldiers were due to join the 600 already deployed to assist with search and rescue operations, the president said. Cali’s airport was also operating on a limited basis because of damage.

More than 1,500 homes were severely damaged in several cities, including Pereira, Cali and Manizales.

Rescuers work at a collapsed building after an earthquake in the city of Manizales, Colombia, Aug. 10, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Sixty people were killed in Pereira alone, according to the latest figures from city authorities. Eleven others were missing, the city said in a post on X.

The full extent of the disaster remained unclear.

In Cali, residents joined rescue workers in searching the rubble for survivors.

“We have a four-story building here that has completely collapsed. We have already managed to rescue three people alive,” a fire service official in the La Alameda neighborhood told broadcaster Caracol.

Power supplies, telephone services and other communications links were disrupted.

Six airports were closed to commercial traffic because of damage to infrastructure, de la Espriella said. The cathedral in Manizales was also severely damaged.

Cars swayed in the streets, windows rattled and people fled their homes in panic.

“At first I thought it was something minor. But when it kept getting stronger and didn’t stop, I thought we were going to die,” a woman from Manizales told broadcaster La FM.

“Part of the roof of my house collapsed and the walls are cracked,” Juan Bernal, a resident of Armenia, said.

The earthquake was also felt in Bogota, Medellin, Popayan and Armenia, as well as in neighboring Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama.

The quake comes after twin earthquakes struck neighboring Venezuela in late June, killing more than 6,000 people.

However, the Colombian Geological Service said there was no connection between the earthquakes. The Venezuelan quakes involved movement of the Caribbean Plate, while the Colombian earthquake was linked to the Nazca Plate off Colombia’s Pacific coast.

The strongest previous earthquake occurred off the coast between Ecuador and Colombia in 1958 and had a magnitude of 7.6. Fifteen people were killed, according to the Geological Service.

In 1999, more than 1,000 people were killed when a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Armenia and surrounding communities.

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