Mayhem At Colombia Quake Site
Alarmed by growing mayhem, President Andres Pastrana has rushed to western Colombia's earthquake-ravaged coffee country to stop looting by hundreds of survivors and get a logjammed relief effort moving.
Frayed tempers boiled over in the Colombian town of Armenia Wednesday, as hungry survivors took matters into their own hands, smashing their way into scores of downtown stores and businesses to carry off food and water, as well as shoes, jewelry, and compact discs.
What started as an isolated incident quickly degenerated as crowds of hundreds swelled into thousands in a rampage that engulfed the entire downtown area.
Some residents threw rocks at police, who responded by firing bursts of automatic gunfire into the air.
"The police and army tried to control the mob, but it was impossible," said Quindio state Gov. Henry Gomez.
The looting continued even as aftershocks rattled the crumbling buildings.
"No food has arrived, we've been forced to rob this," said Jose Fernandez, gripping his spoils as he emerged from one store. "I haven't eaten since the quake," he added as fellow raiders lugged crates of soda, bags of potatoes, and boxes of detergent.
The toll from Monday's earthquake in western Colombia reached 881 dead and more than 3,540 injured, the Red Cross said. Some 200,000 were homeless in the region.
Search and rescue officials say they expect the death toll to rise as more debris is cleared and to eventually exceed 1,000 in the 17 cities, towns, and villages rocked by the quake.
With food and drinking water in scant supply, Pastrana hurried to Armenia to direct the relief effort himself and ordered scores of military police onto the streets to restore order. A force of 2,000 was said to be on its way to the area.
"I have come to impose order... We will work to resolve the problems and distribute food adequately to avoid what happened today," Pastrana said.
However, despite a massive response both in Colombia and abroad to appeals for aid for survivors, virtually none has reached the people of Armenia.
Government officials were unable to explain why most of the 95 tons of relief aid still remained on the tarmac of Armenia's airport late Wednesday.
Search and rescue teams from the United States, Mexico, Japan, and Britain scrambled over and into dozens of collapsed buildings, looking for more victims.
"There is a tremendous lack of coordination. Everyone is working on their own," said Colombian firefighter Raul Gonzalez, who was searching a collapsed hotel. "There is no central command point, which is critical in this kind of emergency."
At least three people were rescued Wednesday, including a 65-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy taken from a collapsed six-story apartment building.
At sundown, police with machine guns took up positions on street corners of downtown Armenia, frisking youn men.
Colombia's worst natural disaster occurred in November 1985 when some 25,000 people were buried alive in an avalanche. Aid poured in from around the world but much of it vanished, allegedly into the hands of corrupt government officials.