So far 121 bodies have been identified for release to relatives as rescue efforts continue in several departments.

On Wednesday, the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) confirmed that it had received 202 bodies of victims of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday.

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The recovered bodies came from the departments of Choco, Caldas, Risaralda and Valle del Cauca. Five of the victims were minors. So far, 121 bodies have been identified for release to their relatives.

The earthquake has caused at least 240 deaths, according to subnational authorities. Currently an undetermined number of people are missing or trapped under the rubble.

Pereira, the capital of Risaralda, has the highest number of identified victims, with 69, followed by Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca, with 25, and Quibdo, the capital of Choco, with 11 bodies.

The other victims came from Manizales, the capital of Caldas, with four deaths; Buga (3), Sevilla (3), Buenaventura (3), Tulua (2) and Belen de Umbria (1).

Meanwhile, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) detailed that 388 Colombian municipalities suffered some type of damage from the earthquake, equivalent to 35% of the 1,103 municipalities that make up the country.

The earthquake, whose epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar, in Choco, has also left a preliminary toll of 2,774 injured people, 3,715 homes destroyed, 64 buildings collapsed, 111 health centers affected and 1,087 educational centers damaged across Colombia.

According to the UNGRD, at least 320 people were rescued in the hours following the earthquake, although people remain missing as rescuers, joined Wednesday in Cali by the Mexican Los Topos brigade, continue working against the clock in search operations.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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