"Ghost City" in Despair: Desperate Struggle Amid Heatwave and 3,000 Missing

"Quiet!"

Rescue volunteers in the earthquake-hit Colombian city of Cali raised their fists and shouted.

They were trying to catch even the faintest voice of a survivor trapped under the rubble.

The Washington Post (WP), AP, and AFP reported on the desperate rescue efforts continuing for a second day after a magnitude 7.4 strong earthquake struck on August 10, destroying buildings and cutting off water and communications in major Colombian cities.

As the largest earthquake to hit Colombia in the 21st century, the massive collapse of buildings has sparked ongoing efforts to find survivors buried under the rubble within the "golden time."

While heavy equipment such as cranes and drones equipped with thermal imaging functions were mobilized in some areas, volunteers were also frequently seen using flashlights and moving the rubble piece by piece.

Rescue teams continued their search operations despite the 30°C (86°F) heat, cutting through steel bars and scooping away debris with buckets.

Rescue operations also continued in Pereira, another affected city.

Residents and volunteers formed a human chain around buildings, standing in silence to listen for any tapping or crying sounds emanating from beneath the rubble.

A CNN journalist who visited the area described the city as "eeriely quiet."

Jairo Vargas, who drove 220 kilometers to find his brother living in the area, stood in utter despair next to his brother's apartment debris.

He confessed, "My brother must be here," adding, "The debris around him is soft, so maybe it's protecting him. But there is no sound at all. There is almost no hope."

Resident Juan David Gaitan said, "The electricity is cut off," adding, "(Pereira) has become like a zombie city."

Amidst such circumstances, miraculous rescues also continued.

The Bogota fire department posted a rescue video on X (formerly Twitter) that day, stating, "The rescue operation for a 35-year-old man was successful at 3:57 a.m.," and revealing footage of eight team members working together to pull a survivor out from the piles of rubble.

The Daily Mail also reported related photos, stating that a 6-month-old baby and its mother were rescued from beneath building wreckage.

According to the Associated Press, the number of missing people due to the earthquake has thus far exceeded 3,000, and the death toll has reached 254.

President Abelardo de la Espriella visited Pereira that day and promised, "My heart is broken to see the destroyed shops in the city," pledging economic support for three months.

However, it was confirmed that there are still areas that have not even received relief supplies.

Choco Province, a western coastal region closest to the epicenter of this earthquake, is difficult to access, causing disruptions in both relief supplies and rescue operation support.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.