Thousands of volunteers and rescuers are racing against time to find survivors trapped under the rubble in Cali, western Colombian, as the critical 72-hour rescue window nears its close following Monday's devastating earthquake.
Rescue workers raised their arms to call for silence upon hearing signs of life beneath the rubble, bringing all activity to a halt. The brief moments of complete quiet were followed by the resumption of frantic rescue operations.
Eight people have been rescued alive in the last 48 hours at La Torre del Limonar, an apartment building in Cali, which completely collapsed in Monday's earthquake. But some dozens of people who were inside are still unaccounted for.
Among them is biologist Paola Giraldo's niece and the girl's maternal grandparents. The family has been trapped under the rubble since the collapse.
"This was the building where they lived. The girl's grandparents had an apartment here, in this same building, and my brother had another. My brother wasn't there at the time. He was spared. The girl was with her maternal grandparents," said Giraldo.
What she said showed the solidarity of fellow Colombian volunteers.
"It's amazing to see so many good people giving everything they can, so many committed people, even putting their own lives at risk, to help us and to help so many people in this situation," said Giraldo.
Countless volunteers have joined efforts across the affected areas, bringing their skills to the rescue, like this nurse from Cali.
"United, we will never be defeated. Little by little, grain by grain, we are helping so many people in need. There are many people in there and the hope of all Colombians is to find them alive. We need to help from the heart. We all have families. Today it's them; tomorrow it could be us. Let's help from the heart," said Johana Andrea Castillo, a nurse.
There is a 72-hour window following a disaster when it's more likely to find survivors. The window closes on Thursday morning, but rescue workers on the ground say they remain hopeful of finding more survivors.
The sergeant leading the search and rescue operation at this location says they are already entering the recovery phase of searching for the bodies of victims but still working to find survivors.
"After 72 hours, the window of opportunity for life decreases considerably. The idea of us doing systematic lifting is to make sure that if someone is alive, he will not suffer an injury from the same operation," said Jaime Castellar, a sergeant of the Cali fire department.
According to the Colombian Geological Service, the 7.5-magnitude quake struck the country's west at 07:34 local time Monday. Its epicenter was near San Jose del Palmar in the department of Choco at a depth of 96 km.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella Wednesday said 265 people have been killed in the earthquake in the country's western region, 3,494 people injured and 496 still missing. He declared a state of economic emergency to speed up assistance to those affected.
All-out search for earthquake survivors underway in Colombia's Cali as 72-hour window narrows
