As many as 111 people have been killed, and hundreds remain missing after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit Colombia, the most powerful quake to strike the country in over a century, according to the Colombian Geological Service (CGS).
The country has now declared a health emergency after the quake struck several cities across western Colombia, including Cali, Pereira, Quibdó and Manizales, and was felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama.
The epicentre, according to the CGS, was in José del Palmer in the Chocó region, about 400 km (250 miles) west of the capital Bogotá.
As per the US Geological Survey, the quake struck at a depth of 107 km (66 miles). As many as 21 major aftershocks have struck the country within hours of the first quake.
In Cali, the country’s third-largest city, search teams and civilians picked through the remains of destroyed buildings, passing large pieces of concrete and other rubble down a long line of volunteers.
Officials said nearly 20 buildings crumbled while more than 380 were partially damaged, adding that hundreds of people still remain missing in the aftermath of the earthquake.
By early Tuesday morning, people had already reported the missing and provided digital databases to authorities, which had more than 1,500 people,, with numbers climbing further.
Hundreds have been shifted to temporary shelters as rescuers intensify searches for the missing people, mostly trapped under the rubble.
In nearby Manizales, footage showed one of the side towers of the city’s landmark neo-Gothic cathedral collapsing and scattering debris onto nearby streets.
Colombia’s civil aviation authority suspended operations at several airports in the country’s west, including Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, while engineers carried out structural inspections.
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