# 294 dead in Colombia quake, hope for survivors ends 2026-08-15T22:42:38+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Rescue efforts in western Colombia have shifted to recovering bodies five days after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck near San Jose del Palmar. Colombia's disaster management unit said at least 294 people have died, 320 remain missing and nearly 4,000 are injured. Over two-thirds of the deaths are in Cali and Pereira. Cali fire captain Alberto Hernandez told Reuters that only one site still showed signs of life; elsewhere, teams are in the phase of recovering bodies. Hernandez expects to finish by Sunday before using heavy equipment to clear debris. The quake destroyed thousands of homes and damaged schools, hospitals and churches from the Pacific port of Buenaventura to the coffee-growing region. Hundreds of survivors are sleeping outdoors in makeshift shelters with shortages of blankets, tents and food. Colombia has recorded 269 aftershocks, adding danger to debris clearing. The disaster is the first major test for President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office a week ago. He has faced criticism for initially declining rescue teams from some countries but later accepted help from Israel and the US. De La Espriella said he spoke with President Donald Trump for 10 minutes, requesting a temporary suspension of US tariffs on Colombian goods to aid business recovery. The US Department of Commerce did not immediately respond. Meanwhile, thousands of people in Medellin and Bogota have donated food, clothing and medicine for distribution to affected areas. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com - economictimes.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T03:27:49+00:00. Tags: Abelardo De La Espriella, Cali, Colombia, Pereira Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/colombia-quake-deaths-hit-294-as-rescue-turns-to-recovery/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/colombia-quake-deaths-hit-294-as-rescue-turns-to-recovery/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/