Deaths, collapsed buildings reported in Colombia earthquake; people trapped

BOGOTA — At least 22 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, bringing down buildings across several cities and leaving others trapped in the rubble, local authorities said.

The highest reported death toll was in Pereira, a city in Colombia's coffee-growing region, where Mayor Mauricio Salazar said 18 people had died. In nearby Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said three people were killed.

One person died in Buenaventura, Colombia's main Pacific port, when a building collapsed, trapping several people, Mayor Ligia del Carmen Cordoba said.

People remained trapped in Cali, one of Colombia's largest cities, after more than two dozen structures collapsed, Mayor Alejandro Eder said. He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams to support rescue efforts.

"At this point, two people have already been rescued alive, one elderly woman and one young girl. There are more people trapped," Eder told Blu Radio. "We have at least 12 critical points and 25 collapsed structures that we are responding to."

The quake's epicenter was near San Jose del Palmar, in Choco, a sparsely populated province on Colombia's Pacific Coast. Choco Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi said there were injuries and significant damage in Quibdo, the provincial capital, and warned residents about aftershocks.

Colombia's civil aviation authority said flights were suspended at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while inspectors checked for structural damage.

The country's disaster agency said the quake, which occurred at 7:34 local time (1234 GMT) was felt in nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals, triggering evacuations and reports of damage. Colombia's geological service pegged the magnitude at 7.4 and said the quake struck at a depth of 96 km (60 miles). The US tsunami warning system as well as Phivolcs said there was no tsunami threat.

Reuters witnesses in the Venezuelan border state of Tachira and the central-western city of Barquisimeto reported the quake had been felt there. Venezuela was hit by devastating twin earthquakes in June, which killed more than 6,000 people, mostly on the coast near the capital, Caracas. — Reuters