Colombia earthquake: Rescue operation enters 'final phase'

Rescuers worked through a third straight night with time ticking towards the 72-hour mark since a powerful earthquake hit Colombia. That's the period aid agencies consider most critical for finding survivors alive, though it can stretch longer if trapped people have access to food and water.

"We're entering the final phase," Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said, adding that survivors could still be found afterward but that the odds grow steadily worse. He said crews were still detecting signs of life beneath the rubble and urged speed: "Every minute is vital."

The death toll from the quake has climbed to 265, President Abelardo de la Espriella said Wednesday.

De la Espriella said roughly 3,500 people have been injured and nearly 500 remain unaccounted for, though a crowdsourced tracking site used by families put the number of missing far higher, at more than 4,100. More than 25,800 families have been affected in total, he said.

The magnitude 7.4 quake — the strongest to hit Colombia in decades — struck on Monday morning near San Jose del Palmar in the northwestern Choco region. It tore through cities across western Colombia, with Cali and Pereira among the hardest hit, along with Manizales and Quibdo.

In Cali, volunteer rescuer Johana Sanchez described teams pausing every 30 minutes to listen for survivors. "So far, three people have been pulled out alive and three dead," she told AFP.

Officials say 140 buildings collapsed entirely and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed.

In Palmira, Santiago Lloreda told Reuters the quake killed his mother and his 13-month-old daughter, Salma, who was too young to have fingerprints on file and would need to be identified through DNA testing. He described his mother as the family's caretaker, saying she "gave everything up to look after the baby."