By Nelson Bocanegra
PEREIRA, Colombia, Aug 13 (Reuters) - With his lean, sinewy frame, and standing just over 5 feet (1.6 meters) tall, Julio Cesar Pineda feels he was destined for the work of burrowing into the debris of shattered buildings to find survivors — first when a quake hit his native Colombia in 1999, and again just this week.
His efforts have won him a nickname: "Rescate" ('Rescue').
When Monday's 7.4-magnitude earthquake pummeled western Colombia, the 67-year-old was at home, near the city of Pereira, in the country's coffee-growing region that was close to the epicenter of the disaster. A wall in his house collapsed, but Pineda was unhurt and decided to help those who might have been less fortunate.
"All I did was grab some gloves ... grab a helmet, and go save lives," Pineda told Reuters.
#pineda #nelson #cesar #rescate
PEREIRA, Colombia, Aug 13 (Reuters) - With his lean, sinewy frame, and standing just over 5 feet (1.6 meters) tall, Julio Cesar Pineda feels he was destined for the work of burrowing into the debris of shattered buildings to find survivors — first when a quake hit his native Colombia in 1999, and again just this week.
His efforts have won him a nickname: "Rescate" ('Rescue').
When Monday's 7.4-magnitude earthquake pummeled western Colombia, the 67-year-old was at home, near the city of Pereira, in the country's coffee-growing region that was close to the epicenter of the disaster. A wall in his house collapsed, but Pineda was unhurt and decided to help those who might have been less fortunate.
"All I did was grab some gloves ... grab a helmet, and go save lives," Pineda told Reuters.
#pineda #nelson #cesar #rescate
1 day ago
