Search for survivors of Colombia earthquake enters "final phase"

Rescuers in Colombia were making last-ditch efforts to locate earthquake survivors early Thursday as the critical 72-hour window for rescue operations neared its end.

The magnitude 7.4 quake, the strongest to hit Colombia this century, has killed 265 people, injured almost 3,500 and left almost 500 missing, according to Colombia's new president Abelardo de la Espriella. Civilian-run databases put the number of missing at more than 4,100. Nearlly 26,000 families were affected, de la Espriella said.

"Our efforts are focused on the disappeared," he told journalists in Bogotá, Colombia's capital.

In cities such as Cali and Pereira, emergency crews worked through a third night with their bare hands, cranes and sniffer dogs, stopping not to rest but to listen for signs of life.

Thursday morning marked 72 hours since the quake, a period when survivors are considered most likely to be found alive beneath collapsed buildings.

Cali resident Martha Perez said she felt "helpless" as two relatives were thought to still be trapped under rubble.

"We will hold on to (hope) until the very end," Perez told AFP on Wednesday night.

" All of us here — the entire city of Cali — are hoping to find more survivors," volunteer rescuer Fernando Loaiza said.

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said Wednesday that rescue efforts were "entering the final phase."

De la Espriella has declared the disaster an "economic emergency" and announced three days of national mourning.

"We will do what is necessary," he said in a statement, vowing to "emerge again as a country and as a society."

More than 11,000 dwellings have been destroyed and thousands of families have been rendered homeless, according to official figures.

In Pereira, crews focused on a collapsed bakery where they believe a street vendor trapped since Monday's earthquake may still be alive beneath the rubble.

Rescuers using equipment that detects vibrations said they had picked up possible signs of life from Pablo Loaiza, prompting anxious relatives to gather near the wreckage.