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A harrowing video showed the collapse of a building after a powerful 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, bringing down buildings across several cities, killing at least 73 as the death toll rapidly rose and others were left trapped in the rubble.
The video shows the building crumbling during the earthquake with onlookers screaming in horror before it ultimately gives way.
Colombia’s geological service pegged the magnitude at 7.4 and said the quake struck at a depth of 96 km (60 miles). The U.S. tsunami warning system said there was no tsunami threat.
“The Trump Administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia and President @ABDELAESPRIELLA’s Administration,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.
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“American citizens in Colombia should enroll at http://STEP.State.gov and follow @USEmbassyBogota’s social media accounts for the latest information.”
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.
MULTIPLE DEATHS REPORTED, DOZENS OF BUILDINGS DAMAGED FOLLOWING MAGNITUDE 7.4 EARTHQUAKE IN WESTERN COLOMBIA
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.
WATCH: COLOMBIA EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS FLEE IN TERROR AS DEBRIS FALLS FROM BUILDING:
“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 (8:34 ET), was felt in nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals, triggering evacuations and reports of damage.
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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 contributed to this report.
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