DistantNews
Support us
Colombia rescuers find woman alive after earthquake
🇮🇪 Ireland /Disasters & Emergencies

Colombia rescuers find woman alive after earthquake

From RTÉ News · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Rescuers in Colombia found a 32-year-old woman alive after she was trapped under rubble for an unknown period following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake.
  • The rescue in Pereira occurred amidst ongoing efforts to find survivors across western Colombia, where the quake killed at least 241 people and injured over 1,600.
  • The earthquake, the country's strongest in a century, caused widespread devastation, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble and overwhelming emergency services.

A 32-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in Pereira, Colombia, sparking cheers from exhausted rescuers. The dramatic rescue offered a glimmer of hope as emergency crews continued their search for survivors after the country's strongest earthquake in a century.

We were losing hope and then we received a call.

— Woman's motherExpressing relief and gratitude after her daughter was rescued.

The 7.4-magnitude quake, which struck western Colombia, has claimed at least 241 lives and injured more than 1,600 people. In Pereira, the woman's mother expressed relief, recounting how a local resident heard cries for help and alerted neighbors, who began clearing debris before professional rescuers arrived. "Thanks to him, today we're happy," she said, adding that the woman's 12-year-old son is waiting for her.

Across affected areas like Pereira and Cali, soldiers, firefighters, and volunteers worked tirelessly. They utilized cranes, sniffer dogs, and heavy machinery, while others formed human chains to manually clear debris from collapsed structures. The scale of the disaster overwhelmed parts of the health system, making this rescue effort one of Colombia's largest disaster responses in recent years.

Thanks to him, today we're happy.

— Woman's motherAttributing the successful rescue to a local resident who first heard cries for help.

As darkness fell, many families faced the grim reality of displacement, preparing to sleep in parks amidst ongoing aftershocks. Entire neighborhoods in cities like Cali appeared flattened from aerial views, with piles of rubble replacing homes and apartment buildings. Residents described losing everything, with some escaping their homes by a "miracle."

We lost everything. We survived by a miracle, since I managed to get my little boy out and my partner managed to get out too.

— WomanDescribing the devastation and her family's narrow escape from their collapsed home.

Rescuers continued their painstaking work, stopping periodically to listen for any signs of life within the twisted concrete and exposed steel. The search efforts, though physically demanding and emotionally taxing, highlighted the resilience and determination of those involved in the face of immense loss and destruction.

We're doing this with our hands, with gloves. It's sad to see time slipping away.

— VolunteerDescribing the manual labor involved in the rescue efforts and the urgency of the situation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by RTÉ News. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog