At Least 6 Die in
Colombia Earthquake
At least six people,
including two children,
were killed when a
5.5-magnitude earthquake
jolted central Colombia
Saturday afternoon,
authorities said.
The earthquake occurred
in Meta province at
14:21 local time (1921
GMT), and its epicenter
was at a depth of 3.9
km, Colombia's
seismological
administration said.
According to the U.S.
Geological Survey, the
quake's epicenter was at
54 kilometers
east-southeast of Bogotá
at a depth of 10
kilometers.
The dead, including two
children, were killed
when rocks fell on a bus
at a highway linking
Bogotá and Meta
provincial capital
Villavicencio in a
landslide caused by the
quake. A dozen others
were injured and the
highway was paralyzed.
Residents fled into the
streets fearing their
houses could collapse as
aftershocks continued.
Water and power supply
was cut off in some
affected areas.
As the quake struck very
shallow, it was strongly
felt. Flattened
buildings, damaged
bridges and rocks
falling down in
landslides have blocked
many roads in Meta
province, according to
the Ministry of Internal
Affairs.
Several power stations
caught fire in the
quake, which also
affected the country's
central, south and
southeast areas.
Police have shut down
all highways leading to
Meta province and Social
Protection Minister
Diego Palacios, who was
traveling with President
Alvaro Uribe in the
southwestern town of
Florida when the quake
hit, was heading for the
affected region.
Meanwhile, a series of
moderate earthquakes,
with the strongest one
at 5.3 in magnitude, hit
another South American
nation Chile Saturday
morning and caused panic
among local people.
At least four quakes
struck the region about
1,000 km south of the
capital Santiago, said
the Chilean national
emergency situations
office. The tremors were
widely felt across the
region. |
