Hopes fade in Colombia as more bodies recovered days after powerful quake

Pedestrians walk past a destroyed building on Saturday after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Cali, Colombia. | AFP-JIJI

Reuters

Aug 16, 2026

BOGOTA – Hopes of finding survivors of the earthquake that struck western Colombia five days ago were dwindling on Saturday, as more bodies were pulled from buildings that collapsed due to the 7.4 magnitude quake that left hundreds dead or missing.

The earthquake struck just after 7:30 ​a.m. in San Jose del Palmar, toppling apartment buildings and damaging schools, churches, hospitals and homes from the Pacific port of Buenaventura to Colombia’s ‌coffee-growing region ‌and major western cities.

Around 290 people have died with 140 more missing and nearly 4,000 more injured, according to ​official estimates late on Saturday. More than two-thirds of the deaths were concentrated in the cities of Cali and Pereira.

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