Colombia earthquake response enters grim phase as hope for more survivors fades

CALI/PEREIRA, Colombia Aug 13 - Hopes of finding more survivors from the powerful earthquake that rocked Colombia early this week were fading on Thursday as rescue workers narrowed their searches, while families in the worst-hit areas waited for news of missing relatives.

In Cali, the country's third-largest city, crews have turned their attention from a search-and-rescue effort to debris removal at most sites, a sign the disaster response was entering a grimmer phase after the crucial first 72 hours.

The 7.4-magnitude quake struck shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday, toppling apartment blocks, damaging homes, schools and hospitals and sending residents into the streets across western Colombia, home to the country's coffee farms.

At least 265 people were killed by the quake and around 500 others are still missing, authorities said on Wednesday afternoon.

In Pereira, another hard-hit city in the coffee region, Enrique Marin said he drove more than 10 hours from Bogota after getting a call from a friend who told him Marin's mother was trapped underneath the rubble of her home.

"My mother was rescued six hours after the earthquake. They pulled her out with vital signs, but she died on the way to the hospital," Marin told Reuters as he stood in front of the debris clutching a bicycle from his childhood, the only item he said he was able to recover from the house.

He said his mother was found in her pajamas with the keys to her house still in her hand.

Authorities said on Thursday that more than 150 aftershocks had been recorded since the main quake, adding to the strain on survivors and the risks facing rescue workers combing through unstable debris.

President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office just days before the disaster, said on Wednesday he would declare an economic emergency and create a reconstruction fund to channel domestic and international aid toward rebuilding hospitals, schools, homes and infrastructure.

The disaster is shaping up as the first major test for the new president, who campaigned on cutting public spending and now faces the task of financing relief and reconstruction while showing his government can manage a national crisis.

Colombian officials have also pushed back against criticism over the handling of foreign assistance, saying the government has not rejected any country's offer but will only accept international search-and-rescue teams that meet recognized certification standards. REUTERS