Active rescue operations continued in western Colombia on Thursday following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that has killed 281 people.

Axar.az informs, citing ABC News, that the updated death toll came Thursday from Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella who said 3,971 people have been injured and the number of those still missing stands at 379.

In the most recent damage assessment presented earlier Thursday, David Santiago Tamayo, director-general of Colombia's Disaster Risk Management Unit, said that more than 12,000 homes were destroyed and more than 74,000 residences were damaged by the earthquake that struck Monday in western Colombia.