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Colombia earthquake: 132 dead, 570 injured after massive 7.4-magnitude strike

Unspeakable destruction has struck Colombia following a deadly earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale that shook the country to its core. The current death toll stands at at least 132 people killed, 570 injured,…

Colombia earthquake: 132 dead, 570 injured after massive 7.4-magnitude strike
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Unspeakable destruction has struck Colombia following a deadly earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale that shook the country to its core. The current death toll stands at at least 132 people killed, 570 injured, and dozens more trapped beneath the rubble. The tremor was felt across Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela, though no tsunami warning was issued.

Search and rescue operations are in full swing, with emergency crews and volunteers combing through the wreckage of destroyed buildings — particularly in Cali, the country’s third-largest city.

The earthquake struck on Monday, with its epicenter near San José del Palmar in the Chocó region, approximately 400 kilometers west of Bogotá, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The tremor had a focal depth of 115 kilometers — yet still caused destruction on a massive scale.

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“You are not alone,” says Colombia’s new president

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced that approximately 1,600 buildings sustained damage, with at least 61 collapsing entirely. He also declared a state of emergency to fast-track funding for disaster response operations. “We will not leave people alone. They are in our hearts, and we will stand by them with our full determination,” the Colombian president stated.

The strongest earthquake in Colombia in the 21st century

Colombia’s Geological Survey described the quake as the most powerful ever recorded in the country during the 21st century. Several aftershocks followed, causing additional anxiety among residents.

The Pacific region where the epicenter was located lies within the so-called “Ring of Fire” — a zone of tectonic fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean that accounts for a large share of global seismic activity.

The Chocó region is one of Colombia’s poorest, largely covered by dense jungle. Many areas are accessible only by boat or plane, making it difficult to fully assess the scale of destruction and the total number of casualties.

Pereira is currently the hardest-hit city, with 60 deaths reported. According to the latest available data, 86 buildings have collapsed across the country, and five cities — Pereira, Cali, Quibdó, Manizales, and Armenia — are on red alert. In Manizales, the cathedral tower has also collapsed; together, these cities are home to 3.5 million people.

The situation remains fluid as search operations continue in damaged buildings, with fears that people are still trapped beneath the rubble.

Pereira’s mayor, Mauricio Salazar, described the situation as “critical” from the very first hours, reporting numerous injuries and people trapped.

The governor of Risaralda, Juan Diego Patiño, also reported “serious damage to several buildings,” noting that images from Pereira were “truly shocking, with casualties and building facades that have collapsed.”

Race against time for the trapped — harrowing images emerge from collapsed hospital

Search and rescue operations are in full force, with rescuers, firefighters, and military personnel working at sites where buildings have come down.

Among the structures that sustained severe damage are the pediatric and neonatal units of a hospital in Cali, triggering a major emergency services response.

Agonizing hours are unfolding in Cali, where the Hospital Universitario del Valle collapsed: the pediatric wing — and in particular the intensive care unit — has been reduced to a pile of rubble, with fears that many children remain trapped underneath. The Villa Salud clinic, one of the city’s best-known private medical facilities located just a few kilometers from the amphitheater where President Abelardo de la Espriella was inaugurated only three days ago, was also destroyed. This natural disaster is the first major crisis he faces as president.



The hospital’s director, Irne Torres, described it as “a tragedy within a tragedy,” confirmed the death of at least one patient, and added that another 10 remain trapped in the rubble, expressing fears that the death toll will rise. “The collapse affected 30% of the structure — particularly the pediatric and intensive care wings. At this moment, we know there are at least 10 people trapped, and we can confirm at least one death, but we fear there could be as many as five,” Torres told Radio Caracol.

The director of the largest public hospital in southwestern Colombia declined to specify, for privacy reasons, whether any of the victims were children in the pediatric wing. “It is a tragedy within a tragedy. We cannot admit more patients and we need blood. One hundred percent of the hospitalized patients have taken refuge in the gardens because the entire structure has been damaged. This is an absolute emergency,” Torres added.



Footage circulating on social media shows the moment the top four floors of the pediatric wing’s facade gave way — a semicircular structure with large windows that crumbled like a sandcastle under the violent shaking triggered by the earthquake.

Torres also reported damage to a hospital facility associated with the University Hospital in Cartago, a municipality closer to the earthquake’s epicenter near San José del Palmar in the Chocó region. “We are also receiving reports of a partial building collapse there,” she said. Meanwhile, a surgeon at the Valle Salud clinic — one of the country’s top private healthcare facilities — posted a desperate plea for help on social media.

“Everyone who can come and help, please come to the Valle Salud clinic. I have many ICU patients trapped. We need to get them out. The hospital has collapsed,” wrote Dr. Juan Gallego on Instagram minutes after the main quake.

Footage broadcast from inside the building — with the cries of doctors and patients audible — showed the severe structural damage and the panic that erupted immediately after the earthquake. According to the doctor, the collapse affected the third, fourth, and fifth floors of the building.

According to authorities, at least seven hospitals in Cali sustained serious damage, complicating not only the care of existing inpatients but also the treatment of the many earthquake casualties. A statement from local government identified the affected facilities as clinics Alba, Rey David, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Sanitas Tequendama, Valle Salud Cali, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Urgencias Pasoancho, and Versalles.


Six hours trapped on a cable car in Pereira

One of the most dramatic rescue operations took place in Pereira, where 16 people became trapped inside cable car cabins when the earthquake struck.



The passengers remained suspended in the air for approximately six hours before being successfully rescued at around 1:30 p.m. local time.



Seven airports shut down

The damage has also caused serious disruption to transportation. Seven airports — in Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura — suspended flights so that their facilities could be inspected.



The temporary closure of these airports is also hampering efforts to transport personnel and aid to some of the worst-affected areas. Dozens of building collapses and cases of serious structural damage have been recorded in Cali, with reports of people trapped emerging from the earliest hours of the disaster.

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