28 Die, 200 Hurt as Quake Rocks Western Colombia

A powerful earthquake shook Colombia on Wednesday, toppling buildings and killing at least 28 people, according to radio reports. About 200 people were injured.

The quake, which struck at 1:41 p.m., was initially measured at a magnitude of 6.5 and was centered about 175 miles west of Bogota, the capital, the Geophysical Institute of the Andes reported. However, the Seismologic Institute of the West in Cali measured the quake at magnitude 6.2.

The quake was felt strongly in Bogota, causing people to flee buildings and disrupting telephone service, but no damage was immediately reported in the city.

Worst hit, according to initial reports, was the western city of Pereira, where at least 20 people were killed and 135 injured when buildings and walls collapsed, Caracol radio reported.

Civilians dug shoulder to shoulder with soldiers, police and firefighters through the rubble of a destroyed building in Pereira, looking for survivors. A boy was pulled from the debris.

TV images showed a highway overpass buckled by the quake, the body of a man lying on it.

Pereira officials cut electrical power in the city of 700,000, about 100 miles west of Bogota, to avoid fires from possible gas leaks or downed power lines.

Eight deaths were reported in other towns in western Colombia, including two people who died of heart attacks during the quake in Neiva and Trujillo.

Near the epicenter, in the town of Dagua, the quake sent tiles sliding off roofs and crashing onto the ground, said resident Nelson Duque. “It was horrible. They were hitting all around,” Duque told RCN radio.