Shafaqna English– By Saturday(15 Aug 2026), five days after the devastating earthquake hit western Colombia, rescue teams were growing increasingly pessimistic about discovering any more survivors, particularly as recovery efforts continued to unearth additional casualties from the rubble of structures leveled by the 7.4-magnitude tremor — a disaster that has already claimed hundreds of lives and left an equal number unaccounted for.
The seismic event occurred at roughly 7:30 in the morning local time, with its epicenter near San Jose del Palmar. The violent shaking was powerful enough to bring down multi-story apartment complexes and inflict widespread destruction on critical infrastructure, including educational institutions, places of worship, medical facilities, and residential properties.
The damage spanned a vast geographical corridor, stretching all the way from the Pacific coastal city of Buenaventura eastward into the nation’s renowned coffee-producing highlands and across several of Colombia’s largest urban centers in the western part of the country.
Source: Reuters