New toll of the Colombia earthquake: at least 239 dead and more than 3,700 injured
Spanish consular authorities continue without information on 75 citizens of the State who were in the country on the day of the tragedy
BarcelonaThe magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook Colombia on Monday has caused at least 239 deaths, 3,755 injuries, and 287 missing persons, according to the latest toll from the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, updated this Wednesday at 7:30 AM local time. The earthquake, with its epicenter in the San José del Palmar area, in the western department of Chocó, has also affected 1,667 educational centers and caused significant material damage. Authorities consider it the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the last decade.
The number of fatalities may still increase, as search and rescue operations continue. The National Institute of Legal Medicine has so far received 202 bodies from Chocó, Caldas, Risaralda, and Valle del Cauca, of which 121 have been identified, including five minors. The government has decreed three days of national mourning. The Colombian president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has also declared a national disaster and economic and social emergency to facilitate the response to the catastrophe.
Among the missing are 75 Spanish citizens who have not yet been located, as also reported this Wednesday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. For the moment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no record of any Spanish citizens among the dead or injured. Furthermore, Spain has announced the immediate mobilization of an initial package of one million euros, through AECID (Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation), to cover the most urgent needs of the affected population. Similarly, the Minister of Foreign Action of the Generalitat, Jaume Duch, has assured that for the moment they also have no knowledge of any injured among the approximately 7,800 Catalans residing in the country.
Rescue operations are reinforced with international teams. The United States has sent two, specialized in urban search and rescue, from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles, California. The Topos, the Mexican brigade of rescuers, have also arrived in the city of Cali, coming from Venezuela.
The earthquake has been followed by 130 aftershocks, nine of magnitude greater than 3 and one of magnitude 4.8 on the Richter scale. The European Union is preparing aid of two million euros and Pope Leo XIV has initially allocated 100,000 euros to the victims, which will be distributed through the Colombian Episcopal Conference.