MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
In Colombia, the clock is ticking.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
After Monday's powerful earthquake that killed more than 260 people, each day that goes by means the chances of finding survivors drop.
MARTIN: Nearly 500 people are still missing. Reporter John Otis is in Cali. That's a city in western Colombia that was one of the hardest-hit by the quake. And he's with us now once again. John, good morning.
JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So it's been three days since the earthquake struck. You've been there for much of that time. Are search-and-rescue teams still going to be able to find survivors?
OTIS: Yes. That's very much possible. I've spoken with rescue workers elsewhere who've pulled people out of collapsed buildings after six days. One factor is climate, and here in Cali, the warm weather could help trapped people stay alive. That said, Colombian officials know they are in a race against the clock. At a news conference yesterday, Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said they have identified seven sites in the earthquake zone where they have the best chance to save people. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ALEJANDRO EDER: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: So here, the mayor is calling on Cali residents to avoid the disaster zone so as not to create traffic jams or to get in the way of rescue teams. Another reason is that workers inside the building need silence so they can use their listening devices to detect signs of life.
MARTIN: Can you tell us more about these search-and-rescue teams?
OTIS: Well, most are from Colombia, which has a fairly robust civil defense system. But search-and-rescue teams have also arrived from the U.S., Mexico and other countries. You also see hundreds of volunteers doing the backbreaking work of removing rubble. I met one of them, a software developer from Cali. His name was Andres Cifuentes. He's spent the past two days cutting through rebar and pulling chunks of concrete from a collapsed building. And as you'll hear, we kept our voices down to avoid disturbing the search teams listening for survivors.
(Speaking Spanish).
ANDRES CIFUENTES: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Cifuentes is telling me that all five floors of this particular building collapsed right on top of one another, and that leaves little space for survivors. But he also vows not to give up.
MARTIN: You mentioned Cali's mayor. You were able to spend some time with him during these recovery efforts.
OTIS: Yes. I tagged along with Mayor Alejandro Eder as he visited a food distribution center. There, he consoled quake victims who had lost their homes and thanked people arriving with donations. He looked pretty beat, but he actually sounded optimistic. For example, he thinks the city will get a lot of money from the national government to rebuild homes, hospitals and the 167 schools that were knocked down.
EDER: But you can sit down and start crying, or you can see it as a huge opportunity to rebuild 167 schools as brand-new modern schools, you know? So I think that's the way you have to look at it.
OTIS: Yeah. And I'll just note that the mayor hadn't slept since Monday's earthquake. So as soon as our interview ended, he took off to catch a well-deserved nap.
MARTIN: And you deserve one, too, because you haven't slept either. That is John Otis reporting from Cali. John, thank you.
OTIS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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