NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      BOGOTA (CWNews.com) - As many as 2,000 people may have been killed in an earthquake in the Colombian mountain city of Armenia on Monday, according to rescue officials on Tuesday.

      An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck the coffee-growing region at 1:19 pm on Monday and was felt across the country, including the capital Bogota. It was the most powerful earthquake ever to hit Colombia. By Tuesday morning, government officials had confirmed 479 dead and 1,758 injured in five provinces, while more bodies were being pulled from the wreckage every minute.

      "We have not recovered many bodies yet, only about 300," said Capt. Ciro Antonio Guiza, deputy fire chief of Armenia, a city of about 200,000. "The calculation of the total dead could be about 2,000 dead (in Armenia)," he added. Rescue workers were also faced with a growing shortage of space to put bodies, in addition to dealing with no electricity or potable water. "It's a complete catastrophe and we will take years to rebuild the city (of Armenia). We're finding more bodies every minute," stated Gov. Henry Gomez said.