The first international rescue brigade arrived early Wednesday in Cali, Colombia, to search for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Monday. The 20-member Los Topos Azteca team, led by Héctor Méndez, was received by Mayor Alejandro Eder and will focus on eight heavily damaged zones of the city.
Cali, capital of Valle del Cauca, is among the hardest-hit areas, with 74 confirmed dead, more than 1,000 injured, and 107 buildings reduced to rubble in its southwest alone. The national death toll stands between 181 and approximately 240, according to President Abelardo de la Espriella and regional authorities. Paramedic Pablo Baruch Juárez estimated survival chances for those still buried at 20 percent.
The Mexican volunteer group, founded after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, traveled directly from La Guaira, Venezuela, where they spent 41 days responding to twin earthquakes that killed more than 6,300 people in June.