SRINAGAR: At least 47 people were killed after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, with buildings collapsing, people trapped under rubble and hundreds forced to leave their homes, according to the Associated Press.
The earthquake was centred near San Jose del Palmar, a community of around 4,800 people in the Choco region, about 400 kilometres west of Bogota. The United States Geological Survey said the tremor occurred at a depth of 107 kilometres and was also felt across the border in Ecuador.
Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told Caracol Radio that 18 of the fatalities were from the city and described the situation as “critical”.
Images broadcast by local media showed houses and other small structures collapsing in Pereira, Cali and Quibdo. In Manizales, around 300 kilometres west of Bogota, part of a tower of a neo-Gothic cathedral also collapsed.
Earthquakes, locally known as “temblores”, are relatively common in central and western Colombia, although tremors exceeding magnitude 6.0 are less frequent. A magnitude 6.2 earthquake near Armenia previously killed more than 1,100 people.
Following Monday’s earthquake, newly inaugurated Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said he had assumed responsibility for coordinating the government’s emergency response in San Jose del Palmar.
“You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” he said.
The civil aeronautics agency said six airports in western Colombia had sustained damage and suspended operations.
The affected airports serve Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, the agency said in a post on X.
