▲ The scene of earthquake damage in Colombia
When the most powerful earthquake of this century struck Colombia on the 10th (local time), buildings collapsed across various parts of the country as if hit by bombings, plunging local residents into panic.
Footage obtained by U.S. broadcaster CNN shows a four-story building completely collapsing in Pereira, the capital of the western Colombian department of Risaralda.
Pereira is located just about 60 kilometers east of the earthquake's epicenter.
The collapsed building pancaked in the middle of a street dotted with fruit stands, and residents hurriedly evacuated amid thick dust.
In the Pereira region, part of the outer wall of San Jose Church was also captured collapsing.
As street trees and utility poles swayed violently from side to side and the church building collapsed, pedestrians screamed, grabbed each other, and fled.
Santiago Velasquez, a resident who encountered the earthquake while driving to the suburbs of Pereira, said, "The ground shook so violently from the earthquake that all vehicles had to stop on the road."
In Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca Department and Colombia's third-largest city, at least 20 buildings collapsed, causing massive damage.
Local authorities stated that some hospital buildings, including the pediatric and neonatal wards of Cali University Hospital, collapsed, trapping patients.
Social media showed medical staff carrying patients out of the hospital on stretchers.
Some residents even took tools like hammers into the rubble of collapsed buildings to search for survivors.
Alvaro Lopez, a resident who watched the rescue work while holding his pet dog in his arms, told the British daily The Guardian, "Our building is in ruins, and the building next to us completely collapsed."
Another resident, Juan Carlos Osorio, told local media, "When the building collapsed, it sounded like a bomb exploding."
At Matecana International Airport, used by travelers, ceiling materials came crashing down due to the earthquake.
The interior of the airport shook violently as if bombed, and ceilings collapsed in various places.
Passengers protected their heads and hurriedly fled the airport.
Colombian aviation authorities stated that following the earthquake, damage reports were received from six airports in the western region, including Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura.
According to foreign media, the death toll identified so far stands at 132, with 570 injured.
However, as rescue operations are just in the beginning stages and many people are reported trapped under building rubble, the death toll is likely to rise.
Some Colombian residents have begun registering missing persons reports on digital databases independently.
One database has registered over 2,000 missing persons, and the number of missing continues to increase, according to the Associated Press.
According to preliminary analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurred near San Jose del Palmar in the western Pacific coastal department of Choco at 7:34 a.m. local time on that day (8:34 p.m. Korea Standard Time).
The Colombian Geological Service explained that this magnitude 7.4 earthquake is the strongest recorded in Colombia in the 21st century.
In particular, this earthquake occurred just over a month and a half after a strong earthquake that killed more than 6,000 people in Venezuela.
A resident told the New York Times (NYT), "As Colombians, we remember what happened in Venezuela so vividly," adding, "(When the earthquake struck) the thought crossed my mind without hesitation, 'Is it our turn next?'"
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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