Tears and Despair in Pereira: Owners Plead with Rescuers
The devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday claimed more than 180 lives, and residents, alongside their human losses, mourn their trapped animals.
The devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday claimed more than 180 lives, and residents, alongside their human losses, mourn their trapped animals.
As Colombia grapples with the aftermath of a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake that ravaged the western and central parts of the country on Monday at 7:34 a.m. local time (12:34 p.m. CET), the rubble in the city of Pereira echoes not only with cries for the missing. Dozens of residents are desperately pleading with rescue teams to help them find their pets, trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
According to official figures released on Tuesday by President Abelardo de la Espriella, the earthquake has claimed at least 181 lives, though local officials warn the number could exceed 240. Nearly 2,600 people have been injured, and around 200 are still reported missing. More than 1,100 homes have been completely destroyed, while over 8,000 residential units have sustained varying degrees of damage.
Nelly Pulgarín, whose five-story building on Carrera Octava in downtown Pereira completely collapsed, tearfully recounted her ordeal. "We don't need help because we have animals inside and we don't know anything about them. They haven't come to help us. We need to know if the animals are alive. Everything is lost," Pulgarín told Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.
From the same building, rescuers have already recovered the body of an elderly woman. "We've lost everything. An elderly lady passed away; they managed to pull her out, but she was already dead. I beg for rescue workers to help us with the animals," added the distraught resident.
The Pereira city government has announced that 14 animals have been rescued from the rubble so far. Meanwhile, at the forensic medicine facilities (Medicina Legal), the bodies of 13 identified victims are being held, including Lina María Rodas Cuadros, Julián Andrés Mejía Moreno, Sandra Patricia Chica Montoya, and others. The official report states that 73 people have died in the city, 37 were trapped under the debris, 15 of whom are still buried, and 243 people have been successfully pulled out.
The material damage is catastrophic: 68 buildings have completely collapsed, and 26 have been partially damaged. City authorities have also released a list of 15 missing persons, including 59-year-old Fabián Díaz Chica, 57-year-old Mario Alberto Zapata, and 20-year-old Dahi Riusria Yusdaivid.
The earthquake also wreaked havoc on the public transportation system. More than 127 users of the Megacable cable car were evacuated from their cabins after the tremors triggered safety protocols. Eduardo Arias Salazar, Megacable's maintenance chief, explained that a drone inspection revealed damage to pylons 3 and 4, which further complicated and slowed the evacuation.
The nearby city of Armenia was not spared either. According to data from its infrastructure secretariat, more than 2,000 buildings have been damaged, and demolition orders have been issued for 30 of them due to the risk of further collapse. Residents like Camila Ramírez are sharing photos of damaged homes on social media and calling for help.
Rescue teams continue their race against time, while aftershocks felt on Tuesday further hamper the search for survivors, both human and animal, beneath the rubble across the affected area.
