A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday morning, collapsing buildings across several cities and killing dozens of people, with rescue teams still searching the rubble hours later.
The quake hit at 7:34 a.m. local time with its epicenter near San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó, roughly 250 miles west of Bogotá, according to the US Geological Survey figures cited by NBC News. Colombia's disaster agency said it was felt in nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals.
Death tolls rose steadily through the day and varied by source. The Association of Capital Cities of Colombia reported at least 71 killed, NBC News said. PBS News reported at least 40 deaths in Risaralda department, where Pereira is located, 27 in Valle del Cauca, and two in Manizales. The Valle del Cauca governor said at least three of those killed there were children.
In Cali, a city of two million, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings and asked authorities in Bogotá and Medellín to send disaster teams. Two people had been pulled out alive, an elderly woman and a young girl, CNBC reported.
Chocó Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi reported injuries and significant damage in Quibdó, the provincial capital, and warned residents about aftershocks. The interior minister said more than 20 municipalities had been affected.
Colombia's civil aviation authority suspended flights at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while inspectors assessed structural damage.
President Abelardo de la Espriella, inaugurated Friday, declared a national disaster and said he had personally taken charge of the emergency response, ordering the establishment of a unified command post. He told residents the state was present and taking action.
The quake was felt in Ecuador, Panama and as far as Venezuela, with minimal reported damage outside Colombia. No tsunami advisory was issued.
Colombia's Pacific region sits along the Ring of Fire. Small tremors are common in the country's center and west, but quakes above magnitude 6.0 are rare. A magnitude 6.2 quake near Armenia killed more than 1,100 people in 1999.