At least 22 dead in an earthquake that has shaken Colombia and collapsed entire buildings

BarcelonaAt least 22 people have died in a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook a large part of Colombia on Monday and caused the collapse of dozens of buildings. The tremor, which took place at 7:34 a.m. local time (2:34 p.m. in Catalonia), has already left fifteen fatalities in Pereira, three at Matecaña airport, three in Manizales, and one in Buenaventura, in addition to an indeterminate number of injured in various parts of the country, some seriously. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the town of San José del Palmar, on the Pacific coast, at a depth of 96 kilometers, and the vibrations were felt even in neighboring countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama, where no injuries have been reported so far.

The capital of the Chocó department, Quibdó, with more than 140,000 inhabitants, has been the most affected city as it is located near the epicenter. "In Quibdó there are several injured and severe damage to buildings," reported the governor of the region, Nubia Carolina Córdoba, on X, who has not yet provided any figures.

The tremor was also felt in the capital, Bogotá, which is 400 kilometers away from the epicenter, causing "some cracks in buildings, according to Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, who specified that, for now, "no structural damage or affectations have been reported." The earthquake also cracked several infrastructures in other major cities in the center of the country such as Pereira, Cali and Manizales. The mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, detailed that at least 25 buildings have collapsed in the city and that, in addition to the dead, there are still people trapped.

In addition, at least six Colombian airports have also suffered damage from the earthquake, with severe affectations in several cities in the west and center, reported the Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil): "There are affectations at the airports of Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura". The situation is feared at the Matecaña international airport in Pereira, where the collapse of a terminal's roof has killed at least three people and there could still be people trapped. Aerocivil also reported the closure of these airports until the "structural damage" is assessed.

The disaster occurs just three days after the inauguration of Abelardo de la Espriella as president of the country, who has convened an emergency committee.