Colombia Earthquake: Rescue Efforts Enter Final Phase as Death Toll Rises to 265

Rescue operations after Monday's catastrophic earthquake in Colombia have entered what officials call the "final phase," with the death toll rising to 265 and more than 3,500 people injured.

By Wednesday, rescue teams were approaching the 72-hour mark since the quake—the period widely considered the window with the highest chance of finding survivors beneath collapsed buildings.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake is the strongest to hit Colombia this century. Nearly 500 people remain missing and more than 9,550 homes have been destroyed, according to local authorities.

Pereira, the heart of Colombia's coffee region, and Cali, the country's third-largest city, recorded 83 and 74 deaths, respectively.

"We are entering the final phase," Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said on Wednesday. "That doesn't mean there won't be survivors after this, but the search will be more difficult."

President Abelardo de La Espriella pledged to establish an emergency fund to help rebuild hospitals, schools, housing, and infrastructure destroyed by the earthquake.

"This is certainly a tragedy of enormous proportions," said de La Espriella, who had taken office just three days before the quake struck. "Our efforts are focused on those still missing."

De La Espriella also declared an economic emergency to address the damage caused by the earthquake, though he did not specify the measures to be implemented.

In Pereira, rescue teams concentrated on a collapsed bakery where they believe a street vendor trapped since Monday's quake might still be alive under the rubble.

Using vibration-detection equipment, rescue workers said they picked up possible signs of life from Pablo Loaiza, prompting anxious relatives to gather outside the wreckage.

"They told us it could be him," said Sara Loaiza, 16, his niece. "My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest."

Relatives said the trapped man appeared to respond when rescuers asked him to knock twice, then three times from beneath the debris.

In Cali, emergency teams prepared to work through a third night with bare hands, cranes, and rescue dogs—stopping not for rest, but to listen for signs of life.

"Every half hour, we ask everyone to stay quiet to see if we can find someone alive," rescue volunteer Johana Sanchez told AFP. "So far, three people have been pulled out alive and three have died."

At the Torres del Limonar complex in southern Cali, residents formed a long human chain, with soldiers, mayor's office staff, and others passing rubble hand-over-hand from the top of the debris pile.

Camilo Cano, a fire department official from Bogota, told Reuters that rescue efforts had become more organized after police began limiting the number of volunteers on site, reducing noise and vibration and allowing sensors to better detect movement beneath the rubble.

President de La Espriella, who narrowly defeated the previous left-wing government's candidate on a platform focused on cutting public spending and tightening security, visited affected areas earlier this week.

"The earthquake will be the first test for Colombia's new president," said Tiziano Breda, senior Latin America and Caribbean analyst at the conflict-monitoring group ACLED.

"De La Espriella campaigned on promises to reduce public finances, including withdrawing funds from the state risk management unit," he added. "That unit is now at the forefront of the emergency response."