This is the moment a six-month-old baby was rescued alongside her mother from the rubble of a collapsed building following a Colombian earthquake. 

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake tore through Colombia's coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, killing at least 164 people. 

The quake reduced multi-story buildings to rubble in cities such as Pereira and Cali, and cracked apart one of the towers of a historic cathedral in the city of Manizales.

Extraordinary footage shows the baby being pulled from the wreckage of a building by a crowd of people. They promptly helped to extract the mother from the debris, who emerged covered in blood and dust.

Around 1,600 buildings have so far been reported as damaged or collapsed. Soldiers, rescue personnel and families picked through the rubble, removing and passing large pieces of concrete by hand down lines of volunteers. 

In one clip taken in an airport, petrified people were seen in the terminal trying to get to cover as the ceiling collapses around them. 

The whole building rattled around them, shaking off bits of the ceiling with every tremor. 

Another clip showed people screaming in fear as they ran away from a disintegrating building. 

The façade of the round building quickly began splitting after a deep crack developed. Whole parts of the building fell down, narrowly avoiding fleeing people.  

And in one particularly shocking video, a church's spire was seen falling off and crumbling into rubble in front of a terrified crowd of onlookers.

Families were held back from the scene by local police as a cloud of dust filled the air.

Rescue efforts are currently underway across Colombia

Emergency teams aided by police, soldiers and volunteers worked through the night with excavators and, at times, their bare hands, hunting for survivors beneath debris. 

In Cali, home to about 2.2 million people, at least 85 people were killed. Dozens of buildings were left leaning precariously or destroyed outright, forcing residents into the streets.

Several of the top floors of one of the city's hospitals - some dedicated to paediatric care - collapsed upon themselves, leaving some patients trapped and forcing some 600 others to be tended to on a street strewn with rubble. 

Carmen Yasmin Garcia, 43, a Cali resident volunteering with rescue teams, said on Monday afternoon that her group had freed seven people from a collapsed building, but four others and a dog remained trapped.

'A moment ago there was scratching but now we can't hear anything, we still have faith that the dog is alive and we can get these people out,' Garcia said. 

'We need people with sticks and spades, the more people lending a hand the better.

Dana Carolina Zamora posted an image of her missing 60-year-old uncle, Miguel Ángel Zamora, cradling his dog. The farmer was living in a rural area of El Cairo, not far from the epicenter of the quake in San Jose Del Palmar.

Local authorities said 80 per cent of El Cairo, a town of about 7,000 people, was damaged. Zamora said she worried because her uncle lived in a traditional but fragile house made of sticks and mud.

'We are afraid. We hope that is not the case, that he is all right and that it is only a communication failure. But we haven't heard anything from him,' Zamora said.

In Pereira, capital of the hard-hit state of Risaralda, authorities reported 66 dead.

The city also bore some of the most visible destruction, with entire residential blocks reduced to piles of concrete and twisted steel. 

'We're without power. This seems honestly like a zombie city,' resident Juan David Gaitan told AFP.

Tattoo artist Andres Hernandez said he was worried about his family and friends, adding that he would stay awake because structures around him were 'on the verge of collapsing'.

Hernandez recalled being asleep at home when the quake happened and rushing into the street for safety.

'It was a movie scene, because I saw the poles, the cables, everything moving. I'm worried about my family, my friends,' he said.

Another 13 people died in Choco, the rural province closest to the quake's epicentre. 

Much of Choco is accessible only by boat, through the jungle or by airplane. Little was known about the extent of the damage there.

President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a state of emergency and vowed a concerted rescue effort.

He travelled to Choco's capital, Quibdo, on Monday night to assess the damage.

He announced he had mobilised 'the entire military and police apparatus' to respond, deploying engineers, rescue workers and search dogs. He announced rental subsidies for those whose homes were damaged while they undergo repairs.

'Choco will never again be the "land of the forgotten,"' he said. 

Local official Jenny Rivas said public services and communications 'have been virtually shut down'.

'People ran out naked, people jumped from the second floor of their homes,' Quibdo resident and law student Wilmer Cuesta recalled.

Dentist Julian Pena said he 'ran outside carrying nothing' after feeling very strong shaking and found hundreds doing the same.

'People were praying in the street. It was overwhelming,' he told AFP.

'There are many buildings with gaps, with cracks. There are others that have completely collapsed.'

De La Espriella, who assumed power just days ago, said 35 people died in Cali alone, while 188 were missing. 

He said 1,000 members of the security forces would be deployed to the city by dawn, following reports of looting. Cali, as well as Pereira, implemented curfews on Monday night.

'Our intention is to cooperate in any way necessary. Here, there are no distinctions or ideological divisions when it comes to defending our people or showing solidarity,' De La Espriella told journalists on Monday evening.  

The earthquake presents the first major test for the leader, who was sworn in as president on Friday. De la Espriella is a divisive figure because of his pledge of an all-out crackdown on criminal groups.

The disaster has drawn comparisons to a deadly 1999 earthquake that devastated the same coffee-growing region, killing more than 1,000 people, as well as to catastrophic quakes that killed more than 6,300 in neighbouring Venezuela in June.

The EU said this morning that it would provide funding and help to support rescue operations in Colombia. 

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X: 'The EU has mobilised Copernicus, our satellite service, to support rescue and relief operations. We are providing funding to support the response, including through the Red Cross.

'We have also activated the EU's crisis consular assistance mechanism to support EU citizens caught in the disaster.'

The US State Department, meanwhile, announced it would provide $15.5million (£11.5million) for emergency shelter, food and other aid. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said America was 'closely monitoring' the situation and 'stands ready to support the people of Colombia'.

Israel, Mexico, Ecuador and France also offered assistance. 

The quake was felt across Colombia, including the capital Bogota, where crowds rushed out into the street in their pyjamas.

At a depth of 110 kilometres (68 miles), the quake was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama.

Experts at the US Geological Survey said the quake was likely caused by movement along a deep fault within the Nazca tectonic plate.

Hospitals in five Colombian cities were put on red alert on Monday.

At least six local airports suspended operations, the civil aeronautics agency said.

Colombian pop megastar Shakira led the calls for unity.

'All my strength and love to my homeland. Let's hold each other tight,' she said.

In Cali, Colombia's third-largest city, volunteers quickly went to work with picks, basic tools and their hands to try to find survivors.

'Getting here was unbelievable. It felt like the end of the world - cars and motorcycles driving the wrong way, everyone searching for their loved ones,' said volunteer rescue worker Nelson Moreno.

'What we need now are flashlights and goggles' to keep working through the night, he said.

Rescuers formed human chains to remove bricks and masonry, stopping every few minutes to listen for signs of life from those trapped below.

'We are trying to get everyone out alive,' said Andres Felipe Mejia, another volunteer.

'A lot of people have come, with supplies, with food, helping the firefighters, helping the people,' he said.