Colombia searches for over 2,500 missing people as it mourns 240 earthquake victims

Newly appointed President of Colombia Abelardo de la Espriella declared three days of mourning on Wednesday for the 240 victims of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Monday, causing hundreds of buildings to collapse and thousands of people to go missing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing across the country, especially in Cali and Pereira, the two cities that have suffered the most damage. The latest report from national authorities stated that, as of Tuesday evening, 181 people had died, 2,774 were injured, and more than 20,000 had been affected by the disaster. However, reports from local authorities put the death toll at at least 240 as of Wednesday morning, according to the news agency EFE. Local outlets reported that at least 2,500 people remain missing. According to official reports, 388 cities and towns have been affected, with more than 20,000 homes damaged and 3,715 destroyed. In addition, 64 buildings have collapsed and more than 1,000 schools have suffered damage. In a decree issued on Wednesday, the national government expressed its “profound sorrow for the death of the people who lost their lives” in the earthquake and “its solidarity with the mourning of the families and friends of these people.” Teams working in the affected areas continue to find survivors among the rubble, listening carefully for anyone calling for help. In Pereira, rescuers pulled a woman from the debris after she had spent 36 hours trapped beneath the rubble. Logramos rescatar a Daniela!Luego de 36 horas bajo los escombros, Daniela Largos Snchez, de 32 aos, fue rescatada con vida. En un trabajo articulado con Bomberos Pereira y PONALSAR, nuestro equipo USAR logr salvar una vida ms. pic.twitter.com/InTwQBnIS5— Bomberos Oficiales de Bogot (@BomberosBogota) August 12, 2026 A website called Colombia Te Busca has been set up for people to report missing loved ones. So far, more than 5,000 people have been reported missing, of whom 884 have been found and 4,138 remain unaccounted for. More than 100 aftershocks have been recorded since Monday’s earthquake. Between Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday, Colombia experienced three earthquakes measuring between 3.0 and 3.3. Argentines in Colombia Two Argentine men who had been reported missing by their families Carlos Luis Cceres and Carlos Alberto Ricchetti were confirmed to be alive and safe on Tuesday, following several hours of uncertainty. Both live in the Risaralda department, which has Pereira as its capital. Cceres is from San Juan, an Argentine province that frequently experiences earthquakes. His daughter, Carla, told Argentine outlet Diario de Cuyo that he was doing well despite suffering some bruises and that he managed to crawl out of the apartment building where he lived on the second floor. Meanwhile, another Argentine man has been missing since Monday. Psychologist Gonzalo Galvn has been living in Colombia for several years, although details about where he was when the earthquake struck have not been disclosed. Galvn is from the Argentine province of Santa Cruz. His loved ones have taken to social media to report his disappearance and ask for any information about his whereabouts. Political and economic measures President De la Espriella, who took office on Friday, is now facing the sudden challenge of responding to a natural catastrophe that has affected several major cities and towns, leaving some areas practically destroyed. The right-wing political outsider also declared an economic and social emergency, in addition to a state of natural disaster. These measures allow him to take extraordinary steps, use funds and resources, and issue new decrees to respond to the situation. Vice President Jos Manuel Restrepo said that multilateral organizations have offered US$1.3 billion in assistance to the country. International aid has also arrived, with El Salvador, the United States and Peru sending hundreds of tons of humanitarian supplies.