At least 47 people were killed in a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in western Colombia. Buildings collapsed in several cities, leaving people trapped under the rubble. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The epicenter was near the town of San José del Palmar in the Chocó department, about 400 km west of Bogotá. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the hypocenter was at a depth of about 107 km. Tremors were also felt in Ecuador and Panama, where only minor damage was reported.
Local authorities confirmed 18 deaths in Pereira and two in Manizales. Another 27 people died in the department of Valle del Cauca, where Cali, the country's third-largest city, is located. According to the regional governor, at least three of the dead are children.
The hardest-hit areas were Pereira, Quibdó, Cali, and Manizales. Rescuers and local residents are clearing debris in search of survivors. Colombia's Interior Minister said the earthquake's effects were recorded in more than 20 municipalities.
In Cali, home to about 2 million people, people were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings. In Pereira, according to Mayor Mauricio Salazar, a significant number of people remain under the rubble. At the local airport, parts of the ceiling collapsed near passengers who were trying to take cover during the tremors.
In Manizales, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed, with fragments falling inside the building. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas reported two deaths and urged residents to stay outside due to the risk of aftershocks.
The Colombian Geological Service called the earthquake the strongest in the country in the last decade. Aftershocks of magnitudes 2.8 and 4.8 were recorded after the main shock. As a result, airports in Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura, and Pereira suspended operations.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office over the weekend, said he personally took control of the authorities' response to the emergency in the San José del Palmar area. Several countries in the region and the United States offered aid to Colombia.
Strong earthquakes above magnitude 6.0 are relatively rare in Colombia, although weaker tremors in the central and western parts of the country are regularly recorded. In 1999, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake near Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that the death toll from earthquakes in Venezuela reached 6,124, with another 60,992 people injured. Tremors of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 occurred on June 24 about 40 seconds apart, followed by more than 1,500 aftershocks. According to the World Bank, damage was estimated at about $19.6 billion, and reconstruction could cost up to $50 billion.