Colombia earthquake search ends as government declines foreign help

By Al Jazeera English

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Colombians are continuing the desperate search for victims and possible survivors of Monday's devastating magnitude 7.4 earthquake. Almost 4,000 people were injured, and at least 281 have been killed, a number expected to rise as more bodies are recovered. By day four, the critical 72-hour window for finding survivors alive had long passed, and rescue teams called off the search for one trapped person at 3am after the last signs of life disappeared. Unlike other countries in the region that have faced similar disasters, Colombia's new government, in office for less than a week, has refused to allow trained international search-and-rescue teams, including those from Mexico, to help, a decision confirmed by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Survivors who lost everything are now sleeping in parks, relying on donations from churches, NGOs and ordinary citizens rather than the government. Al Jazeera's Latin America editor Lucia Newman reports from Pereira. Subscribe to our channel: ht

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