As rescue operations entered their third day following a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Colombia, emergency response teams and local residents achieved a remarkable breakthrough in the western city of Cali. A two-month-old infant named Salomón and his father were pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed five-story apartment building through a coordinated community rescue effort.
In Cali, the collapse of a residential complex trapped people beneath heavy concrete slabs and tangled debris. Amid the chaos, ordinary citizens mobilized to scour damaged structures for survivors, braving hazards such as gas leaks.
The extraction unfolded as local resident Osorio—who captured the ordeal on video while returning home on a motorcycle—navigated the blocked streets near the fallen structure. Confronted by weeping residents and stunned onlookers, Osorio approached the mound of debris to call out for survivors. The situation shifted when he commanded the gathered crowd to maintain silence, allowing a faint, barely audible voice to emerge from within the shattered concrete.
“I am here, and there is a baby with me,” a man called out from beneath the ruins, according to CNN.
A Race Against Time Beneath the Concrete
Recognizing the peril, Osorio and several nearby bystanders rushed to move heavy masonry with their bare hands. They quickly encountered a massive concrete slab that blocked access to the trapped pair. Their initial attempts to lift the heavy barrier failed, prompting a synchronized team effort.
“We couldn’t lift the concrete slab on our first attempt, then we tried again together, one, two, three, lift!” participants recounted.
Because the slab was too heavy to clear completely, the rescuers devised a workaround. Several individuals strained to prop up the weight while others cleared a path for the infant. Within moments, the tiny head of the two-month-old boy became visible in the dust.
Rescuers observed that the infant’s face appeared slightly purple due to an inability to breathe before fresh air reached him. As the debris was cleared away, the baby began to breathe normally again and his color returned. Video footage of the extraction showed the dust-covered infant being carefully pulled out, while his father remained pinned nearby with a bleeding arm and half his body trapped beneath the masonry.
Ongoing Search and Rescue Operations
Local media confirmed that the injured man is the infant’s father, while the child’s mother and uncle remained unaccounted for. Following the extraction, police transferred the infant to a waiting ambulance, while teams worked to extricate the father. Both the father and son were eventually saved.
The successful recovery of the young child has provided a morale boost for those operating in the earthquake zone.
Official updates regarding structural stability assessments and ongoing missing persons searches are expected from regional emergency management authorities. Readers seeking further updates on relief efforts or looking to support local humanitarian initiatives are encouraged to monitor announcements from municipal civil protection offices and verified humanitarian aid organizations operating in the region.
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