Powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake hits Colombia leaving at least 20 dead and more trapped

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At least 20 people have been killed and many more remain trapped in the rubble after a major earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday.

The 7.4 magnitude quake hit Colombia’s Pacific coast officials said, with the epicentre located near San Jose del Palmar in Choco.

Tremors caused by the event were so powerful that they are reported to have reached the country’s capital Bogota 250 miles away (400km) as well as being felt in neighbouring Venezuela.

At least 18 people were killed in Pereira, mayor Mauricio Salazar told Caracol Radio, while others continue to remain trapped in collapsed buildings.

People look for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Cali, Colombia on August 10 (AFP/Getty)

Two others were killed in Manizales, mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said in an interview with Blu Radio. The number of people injured is yet to be confirmed.

“We have just experienced a major earthquake in the department of Choco,” Choco governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi announced on X.

“We are concerned about aftershocks. Although the epicentre was near San Jose del Palmar, there are injuries and significant damage to buildings in the capital, Quibdo. We are already carrying out a damage assessment and will issue the first official report shortly.”

The regional capital of Pereira province suffered “significant damage to some buildings”, Risaralda province’s governor Juan Diego Patino told Blu Radio.

The Manizales Cathedral was among the buildings damaged by the tremors (AFP/Getty)

“What has just occurred is very severe. The images are truly shocking, with people injured and building facades collapsed.”

Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, saw at least 20 structures collapse with people trapped in the destruction, the city’s mayor Alejandro Elder said.

The city has requested disaster teams from Bogota and Medellin to aid in rescue efforts, he said.

Initial statements suggested that the quake’s depth was 79km before this was upgraded to 96km (60 miles) with the tremor magnitude increased to 7.4. No tsunami warning was issued in the aftermath of the incident, the US tsunami warning system confirmed.

Flights were suspended at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, while inspectors checked for structural damage, according to the country’s civil aviation authority.

Reports from nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals where the quake was experienced were received by Colombia’s disaster agency triggering evacuations and damage reports.

The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management in Colombia said it is in communication with local officials to evaluate potential damage but no major destruction has been reported in the capital.

People look for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after the earthquake hit Cali (AFP/Getty)

The region was hit by devastating twin earthquakes near Caracas in Venezuela in June, which killed over 6,000 people. Witnesses told Reuters that they felt the tremors in the border state of Tachira and the central-western city of Barquisimeto.

Colombia’s location on the Pacific Ring of Fire makes it highly susceptible to earthquakes. The Ring of Fire is a belt where the Earth’s tectonic plates meet, with around 90 per cent of the planet’s largest earthquakes occurring here.

The country’s most devastating quake occurred in August 1868, killing around 70,000 people.