Search efforts continue in Colombia after the 7.4 earthquake that devastated much of the coffee-growing country. As happened in Venezuela, every minute counts, but hope is not lost to find survivors alive.
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There are heartbreaking stories. Like that of little Mateo who died at just six years old and who turned out to be the son of the mayor of the municipality of Bahía Solano, in the department of Chocó. Leonel Valencia not only has to deal now with managing a natural disaster, he also has to cope with the loss of a loved one. The little boy died as a consequence of the collapse of the building he was in, according to Efe.
He is not the only minor who died on Monday. According to ‘El Tiempo’ from Colombia, in the municipality of Calima-El Darién (north of Cali), four children perished. In this place “several homes, institutional buildings, the main church, and two schools in the area collapsed,” this outlet reports.
And amid so much desolation, life always finds a way. This has happened in Cali, as narrated by ‘El Heraldo’, where emergency teams rescued a six-month-old baby alive. Under the tons of rubble was also his mother, who protected her son with her own body.
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The Colombian magazine ‘Semana’ also captured a ray of hope. The mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, recounted the rescue feat of a man: “Last night, around 3:57 a.m., they managed to rescue a 35-year-old man alive from the rubble. Carlos Esteban Rebolledo, the rescued patient, has some minor injuries and is receiving appropriate care, but he is out of danger.”
While the rescuers’ work continues, hospitals are overwhelmed and curfews have been imposed. As in other disasters, it is difficult to decipher the number of missing persons. According to Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Tuesday, there are 164 Spaniards missing.
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