Rescue crews in western Colombia worked through Tuesday, digging through massive piles of rubble and calling for silence to detect survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the country’s coffee-growing heartland. Reports from affected cities put the death toll at 254, including 101 deaths in Pereira and 95 in Cali. Several communities in Choco, near the epicentre, remained without electricity, water, gas, medical supplies and other basic services. Survivors described terrifying scenes. Social media influencer Jose Gallego, who was in Pereira when the earthquake struck, said: “There were people injured, bleeding, screaming and trying to reach their families.”