By Oluwakemi Kindness
At least 132 people have been killed and hundreds remain missing after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia on Monday.
The Colombian Geological Service described it as the most powerful tremor to hit the country this century.
The earthquake devastated several cities in western Colombia, including Cali, Pereira, Quibdo and Manizales.
The tremor was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama.
The United States Geological Survey said the epicentre was near San Jose del Palmar in the Choco region, about 400 kilometres west of the capital, Bogota.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 107 kilometres and was followed by at least 21 aftershocks within hours.
In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, rescue teams and residents searched through collapsed buildings for survivors.
Local officials said at least 20 buildings collapsed, while another 380 were damaged, leaving many people trapped under the rubble.
Residents formed human chains to move concrete and debris as rescuers worked to reach those trapped.
Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver, told The Associated Press that he saw clouds of dust rise across Cali as buildings collapsed.
“My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” he said. “We’re thanking God we’re alive.”
Another resident, Juan Carlos Osorio, told Caracol Television that the collapse of one building “sounded like a bomb”.
Osorio said neighbours were working together to rescue those trapped, but warned that heavy equipment was urgently needed.
“All of us neighbours are working together, forming human chains. We need heavy equipment. There are many people trapped,” he said.
