At least 20 dead in two cities in central Colombia due to the earthquake

Bogotá.- At least 20 people died this Monday in Pereira and Manizales, two cities in central Colombia, one of the areas most affected by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook a large part of the national territory, local authorities reported.

“So far, we have recorded 18 people dead” in Pereira, stated the city’s mayor, Mauricio Salazar, to the Caracol Radio station.

On the other hand, the mayor of Manizales, Jorge Eduardo Rojas Giraldo, capital of the neighboring department of Caldas, stated that at least two people died in that city.

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“So far we have recorded two deaths,” the mayor assured the Colombian station Blu Radio, who also reported that between 20 and 30 homes collapsed in the city, in addition to several churches that suffered damage from the seismic movement, and that the Mayor’s Office has already set up three shelters in different areas of the city.

Material damage in that coffee-growing area of Colombia includes the detachment of part of the roof of the Matecaña International Airport in Pereira, which remains closed, as do those in Manizales and Armenia, in the same region, according to the aeronautical authority, as well as damage to churches and cathedrals.

“We managed to get the grandparents out in time. The apartment is in bad shape, the building is totally destroyed,” Johanna Ramírez, a Pereira resident who cares for an elderly couple, told EFE.

In videos released after the earthquake, it can be seen how the central spire of the San José de Pereira church breaks off, while several people who were on the street hold onto a police motorcycle and other surrounding elements while being shaken by the tremor, amidst the chaos and confusion.

In another video recorded in Pereira, it can be seen how part of a hotel’s facade falls off, while the person recording the footage assures that those who were at the scene are “fine”.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.4 according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC), had its epicenter in the town of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, located in the Pacific region, although the coffee-growing area in the center of the country was one of the most affected by the tremor.