A powerful earthquake that struck western Colombia on Monday has claimed at least 250 lives, making it the most destructive seismic event to hit the country in over a century. Rescue operations continue as teams search for survivors trapped beneath collapsed structures.

Rescue operations intensified across western Colombia on Tuesday following a major earthquake that struck the region early Monday morning. The 7.4-magnitude tremor has emerged as the most damaging seismic event to affect Colombia in the current century, according to Ada Derana.

The earthquake devastated Colombia's coffee-growing region, causing widespread destruction across multiple types of infrastructure. Apartment buildings, residential homes, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities sustained severe damage, with many structures either cracked, tilted at dangerous angles, or completely flattened by the force of the quake.

Search and rescue teams worked urgently on Tuesday to locate survivors remaining under the rubble. Rescue personnel employed careful listening techniques, calling for silence at collapse sites to detect any signs of life from those still trapped beneath the destroyed buildings. The death toll has reached at least 250 individuals, though authorities continue assessing the full extent of casualties and damage across the affected areas.

The scale of destruction has prompted a significant response from rescue services as teams navigate through mountains of debris in their efforts to recover survivors before time runs out for those trapped.