Family members waited for the bodies of their loved ones to be released from a Palmira morgue on Wednesday (August 12) after the deadly earthquake two days prior in Colombia.

According to the Colombian news outlet RCN, the Institute of Legal Medicine had to relocate part of its operations to other cities, including Palmira, due to damage at its Cali headquarters and the scale of the tragedy.

In Palmira, relatives of the deceased waited outside a morgue on plastic chairs under the shade of trees. An official called out the names of identified bodies via a loud speaker.

Santiago Lloreda, 31, told Reuters he was at work when the quake hit his apartment, killing his mother and 13-month-old daughter Salma, who was too young to have a fingerprint registry and needs to be identified though DNA samples via Bogota.

"My mother was the pillar of our family, she took care of everyone and always made you laugh ... she gave everything up to look after the baby. It cost her life but it made her so proud and happy," he said.

Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella said on Wednesday that 265 people have died and 496 people remain missing following an earthquake on Monday that struck several major cities in the west of the country.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. VARIOUS OF FAMILIES WAITING FOR BODIES OF LOVED ONES AT MORGUE

2. MEMBERS OF JUDICIARY NEARBY

3. MORGUE

4. VARIOUS OF HEARSE OUTSIDE MORGUE

5. FAMILIES WAITING FOR BODIES OF LOVED ONES AT MORGUE

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RELATIVE OF QUAKE VICTIMS WAITING OUTSIDE MORGUE, SANTIAGO LLOREDA, SAYING:

“My mother was the pillar of our family, she took care of everyone and always made you laugh, she was always there for her family, so much so that she gave up everything to care for the baby (referring to his also deceased 13-month-old daughter Salma). It cost her life but it made her so proud and happy.”

7. MORGUE

8. VARIOUS OF FAMILIES WAITING FOR BODIES OF LOVED ONES AT MORGUE

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RELATIVE OF QUAKE VICTIM WAITING OUTSIDE MORGUE, ALICIA ARIAS, SAYING:

“They should start handing over the bodies based on which ones arrived first because there aren't enough refrigerators. The bodies are rotting here; the refrigerators are broken. They need to have a contingency plan, they should bring in trainees if there aren't enough staff, because there are very few of them, and we understand that, but we also need our bodies.”

10. FAMILIES WAITING FOR BODIES OF LOVED ONES AT MORGUE

11. VARIOUS OF RELATIVES HANDING DOCUMENTATION NEAR MORGUE

12. FAMILIES WAITING FOR BODIES OF LOVED ONES AT MORGUE