The IDF’s Home Front Command continued working alongside search teams working through the rubble of collapsed buildings in western Colombia nearly a week after a powerful earthquake devastated cities and towns across the country’s west, killing hundreds and leaving many more missing, injured or homeless.
Israel’s “Alliance of Brothers” delegation has also assisted with efforts to map and assess buildings damaged in the earthquake, led by the delegation’s engineers, to help determine which buildings are still stable.
The 7.4-magnitude quake struck Monday morning in San Jose del Palmar, causing severe damage from the Pacific port of Buenaventura to Colombia’s coffee-growing region and major western cities including Cali and Pereira.
Official estimates issued on Sunday put the death toll at around 290, with more than 140 people still missing and 4,200 injured. More than two-thirds of the deaths were concentrated in Cali and Pereira, where apartment blocks, homes, churches, schools and hospitals were damaged or destroyed.
No signs of life
In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, emergency workers continued searching unstable piles of concrete and twisted metal on Sunday as rescue efforts increasingly gave way to the recovery of bodies.
“Unfortunately, there are no signs of life,” Cali fire department Captain Alberto Hernandez said. “Miracles can happen, but honestly – as a believer and based on what we have seen – there is no indication that anyone is still alive.”
Aftershocks have added to the danger for crews working in damaged neighborhoods and for residents still unable to return home.
De La Espriella said on Sunday that Colombian billionaire banker Jaime Gilinski, who also controls food company Nutresa, would donate 150 billion pesos ($47.75 million) to rebuild hospitals and schools in Gilinski’s hometown Cali. The Santo Domingo family, which controls a vast media empire in the nation, had already pledged $32 million on Friday.
