Sawt Falasteen - Colombia quake leaves 69 dead, with more trapped under rubble

Emergency teams rushed to help victims and search for survivors under the rubble after the quake hit the coastal Choco region at 7:34 am local time.

The tremor, with an epicenter 100 kilometers (60 miles) deep in the San Jose del Palmar municipality, killed at least 40 people in the Risaralda region.

"The situation is critical," Mayor Mauricio Salazar of the provincial capital Pereira told Caracol Radio.

Twenty-seven people were killed in the Valle del Cauca department, and two more died in the city of Manizales, in Colombia's coffee-growing region.

The quake caused a tower of Manizales' beloved cathedral to fall over, an AFP journalist observed.

"A great many buildings" in the city sustained damage, said administrator Jaime Zuluaga, 50. "Traffic is paralyzed and people don't want to go back to their homes for fear of an aftershock."

- Airports shut -

Twenty buildings crumbled in Colombia's third-largest city Cali, trapping people beneath the debris, Mayor Alejandro Eder said.

Choco's governor warned of serious damage in the provincial capital Quibdo, where videos showed more buildings reduced to rubbled. The death toll in the impoverished region remains unknown.

Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela also felt the early-morning quake, which prompted building evacuations in Bogota.

Still wearing their pajamas, crowds of people rushed out into the street upon feeling the tremor, AFP reporters saw.

"The quake was very, very strong," said content creator Valeria Polo, 29, in the capital, where only minimal damage was recorded.

Six small airports in western Colombia suspended operations, the civil aeronautics agency said, and the soccer governing body postponed upcoming football matches.

President Abelardo de la Espriella, who was just sworn in on Friday, said he was heading to Bogota to convene an emergency meeting.

"To the Colombians who are going through difficult times today, I want to say: You are not alone," he added.

De la Espriella has pledged to build close ties with the United States and Israel, both of whom voiced support following the disaster.

Washington is "closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.

Israel offered its assistance, as did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ecuador's Daniel Noboa.

In June, twin earthquakes in Venezuela of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 killed more than 6,000 people and caused widespread destruction.

V.AbuAwwad--SF-PST