Colombia earthquake death toll rises as frantic search for survivors continues

Tons of aid from regional partners began to roll into Colombia on Wednesday, as the search for survivors in the rubble of a powerful earthquake grew more desperate after the temblor razed buildings, buckled roads and crushed cars.

The devastation has tested Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella , and his government as it scrambles to respond to the disaster and civil society as it pushes to provide aid to the most affected communities.

De la Espriella said Wednesday evening that at least 265 people died in the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the country's west on Monday. The president said nearly 500 people were reported missing, though civilian-run databases put that number at more than 4,100. In total, more than 25,800 families were impacted, de la Espriella said.

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

Teams continued to pick through the rubble in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, as time ticked away for victims to be found, and rescued, alive. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours crucial for retrieving survivors, though that threshold can be extended if those trapped have access to food and water.

On Wednesday afternoon, Alejandro Eder, the mayor of Cali, told reporters that rescue teams continue to find signs of people alive under the rubble and are racing to save them.

"The next 20 hours are the most critical to find and rescue people alive," he said. "Every minute is vital."

Social media videos showed a baby being rescued Monday from the rubble of a collapsed building in Cali. In the videos, a survivor can be heard telling rescuers, "I'm with a baby," as the cries of the infant are heard.

In Pereira, rescuers pulled 32-year-old Daniela Largo alive from the rubble late Tuesday, capping a complex 12-hour rescue in which crews carved a small opening in the debris to free her pinned arm and a doctor administered IV fluids to stabilize her. Wrapped in a blue blanket, the young woman was carried to an ambulance as firefighters embraced and onlookers cheered.

Craig De Meillon, a search-and-rescue volunteer from Miami, Florida, was part of the rescue effort. "It was kind of like a football moment, when everyone is like shaking hands, like, 'Yes, yes!'" De Meillon told CBS News when asked how it felt to see the woman freed.

Another moment was marked by mourning, as a man was pulled from a building in the same city, lifeless and covered in a white blanket.

During search operations, hundreds of onlookers and volunteers must be kept quiet enough in the middle of a bustling city to listen for the faintest sign of life.

In one instance in Pereira, CBS News cameras captured volunteers forming human bucket brigades, passing piece after piece of rubble by hand for hours.