Colombia Quake Toll Rises to 265 as Rescuers Race Clock

Colombia's earthquake death toll has climbed to at least 265, President Abelardo de la Espriella said Wednesday evening, as rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings in a race against time and aid from across the region began arriving.

The magnitude 7.4 quake struck the country's west on Monday, razing buildings, buckling roads and crushing cars. De la Espriella said nearly 500 people were reported missing, though civilian-run databases put that number at more than 4,100. More than 25,800 families have been affected, he said.

"Our efforts are focused on the disappeared," the president told journalists in the capital.

Teams kept working in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours crucial for finding survivors, though that window can extend if trapped people have food and water.

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said Wednesday afternoon that crews were still detecting signs of life. "The next 20 hours are the most critical to find and rescue people alive," he said. "Every minute is vital." In social media videos from a collapsed building in Cali, a survivor is heard telling rescuers, "I'm with a baby," as an infant cries.

In Pereira, rescuers pulled Daniela Largo, 32, alive from the rubble late Tuesday after a 12-hour operation in which crews carved an opening to free her pinned arm and a doctor gave her IV fluids. "It was kind of like a football moment, when everyone is like shaking hands, like, 'Yes, yes!'" said Craig De Meillon, a search-and-rescue volunteer from Miami. In the same city, a man was pulled out lifeless, covered in a white blanket.

Colombia's geological service has documented 130 aftershocks. Sports arenas, schools and other public buildings have been converted into shelters, and families are sleeping in parks in Pereira and Cali.

Rodrigo Le\u00f3n Loya, a seismologist at the University of the Andes, said another quake of similar size in the same area is unlikely but more seismic activity cannot be ruled out. "Colombia is full of active fault lines," he said.

The true toll in Choco, near the epicenter, remains unknown because cell service is down and many communities are reachable only by river. The State Department said U.S. disaster response teams began arriving Monday, and Washington has offered more than $15 million. Mexico sent two military aircraft with 19.5 tons of food and 19 security personnel to Pereira.