A magnitude‑7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Aug. 10, and by the morning of Aug. 11 the death toll had reached 254, with more than 2,500 injured and a large number of buildings collapsed. In the hard‑hit city of Cali, a group of residents pulled a two‑month‑old baby alive from the rubble of a collapsed residential building – using only their bare hands.
A five‑storey residential block in Cali was completely reduced to rubble in an instant by the powerful quake. On Aug. 10, dozens of people began digging through the debris with their bare hands, ignoring the risk of gas leaks and explosions. One rescuer, a man named Zuluaga, said he initially thought the collapsed structure was a construction site, but upon approaching realised it was a residential building. He heard a faint cry for help from a man trapped in the ruins, who shouted: "I'm here – I'm with a baby." Zuluaga and six others worked together to pinpoint the trapped man's location and successfully pulled the infant to safety before rescue teams arrived.
In another severely affected city, Pereira, rescue workers pulled a woman from the rubble of a collapsed hotel on the evening of Aug. 11 – she had been trapped for 36 hours and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Colombian President De la Espriella declared a national state of emergency and imposed a three‑month economic emergency status on the coffee‑growing regions. He said the government had "mobilised all available forces" to protect lives and assist affected communities, adding that the top priority was to rescue those still trapped under the debris.
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