Rescue teams in Colombia find survivors 2 days after earthquake

Search for life in the rubble of Colombia's powerful earthquake grew more desperate

on Wednesday as search teams pushed up against a key time threshold

to locate survivors with signs of life.

The devastation has tested Colombia's new President Abelardo de la Espriella

and his government as it scrambles to respond to the natural disaster

and civil society as it pushes to provide aid to the vulnerable communities

most affected by the quake.

Rescue teams in Pereira continued through the night to free any trapped survivors

under the rubble of buildings that collapsed during Monday's 7.4. magnitude

earthquake in Colombia.

Then applause rang out as rescuers pulled a 32-year-old woman from the ruins

where she had been trapped for 36 hours.

According to firefighters the woman had been located 10 hours before the rescue

but had to be delicately helped out as she was buried deep under the rubble.

Crews said they were working to free another person

trapped under the same building.

In Cali Colombia, rescuers digging and calling for silence to hear

if anybody was calling out from under the pile of concrete and rubble.

Lawyer David Lemos said, "Until yesterday, this was a four-storey building

which housed a workshop and a notary's office. The second floor contained the flats

also on the third and fourth floors. We managed to evacuate everyone."

Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours crucial for retrieving survivors

though that threshold can be extended if they have access to food and water.

Mexico said it was preparing to send military personnel, rescue specialists,

doctors and emergency supplies to Colombia following Monday's earthquake.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico was waiting

for a formal request from the Colombian government.

Peru's President, Keiko Fujimori oversaw the dispatch of 12 tonnes of humanitarian aid

to Colombia, intended to assist families affected by the earthquake

the consignment will be transported on board a Hercules aircraft

belonging to the Peruvian Air Force.