Colombia earthquake: 74 dead as buildings collapse, families dig through rubble for loved ones | In Pics, Videos

The massive 7.4-magnitude earthquake in cities across western Colombia on Monday killed at least 74 people. Several residents are reportedly trapped under debris, leaving more injured and forcing people to evacuate their homes as far as the capital of Bogotá.

According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the quake was in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region, about 400 kilometres west of Bogota.

The earthquake was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.

According to the Associated Press (AP), citing local officials, at least 18 people had been killed in the city of Pereira, two in the city of Manizales, and 27 people in the Valle de Cauca department, where Colombia's third-biggest city, Cali, is located.

Cities across the west of the country, such as Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales, were ravaged. A mix of residents and search teams picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings amid concerns by authorities of aftershocks.

More than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit, said Colombia's interior minister.

Colombia's Geological Service said it was “the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade”. Monday's quake was followed by two aftershocks, one of magnitude 2.8 and one of magnitude 4.8.

The earthquake brought down buildings in Colombia.

In Venezuela, desperate families continued to search the ruins for the bodies of their loved ones.

Authorities also reported that flights were suspended in the airports of Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago y Buenaventura and Pereira.

In Pereira, photos and videos published by local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling down on travellers taking shelter and screaming, and people running through rubble in a panic.

In nearby Manizales, a city nestled in Colombia's coffee-producing mountains, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell onto the nave.

Jorge Eduardo Rojas, the mayor of Manizales, said two people had died in the city “because of the quake” and asked residents to stay outside in case of aftershocks.

Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, told AP that he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city from his home in the hills of the city as buildings collapsed. Residents in the city and rescue workers were searching the rubble for survivors.

“My entire house shook,” he said. “I've never lived through such a powerful earthquake.”

Authorities in the rural state of Choco, the epicentre of the quake, reported injuries and damaged buildings in the capital but provided few details.

In Cali, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings.

Small earthquakes, known as “temblores,” are common in central and western Colombia, but those above 6.0 magnitude are rare. In 1999, a 6.2 magnitude quake near the city of Armenia, killed more than 1,100 people.

Colombia’s new President Abelardo de la Espriella said that he had personally taken charge of the government’s response to the emergency in San José del Palmar following the earthquake that struck the country.

“You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” he said.

(With agency inputs)