PEREIRA: At least 111 people were killed and 87 injured when a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia early on Monday, flattening buildings across several cities and leaving residents trapped in the rubble.

The 7.4-magnitude quake hit at 7:34am, with its epicentre in the coastal Chocó region at a depth of 100km. Colombia declared a state of emergency as rescue teams fanned out across multiple cities.

President Abelardo de la Espriella, appointed only three days earlier, said from Bogotá that the government had deployed all available capacity to protect lives and deliver aid, reporting 111 deaths, 87 injured and more than 1,000 buildings damaged.

Pereira was among the worst-hit areas, with local authorities earlier reporting at least 40 deaths in the surrounding Risaralda region. A tower of a much-loved cathedral in Manizales collapsed. In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, Mayor Alejandro Eder said at least 20 buildings came down, trapping people underneath.

The governor of Chocó warned of serious damage in the provincial capital Quibdó, where a community leader said the greatest number were not the dead or wounded but the missing.

Tremors were felt in Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, and buildings were evacuated in Bogotá. Six small airports in western Colombia suspended operations and football fixtures were postponed.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring the disaster closely, and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had already mobilised its Copernicus satellite service to support rescue work. Israel, Mexico, Ecuador and France also offered help.

Latin America is still recovering from two devastating quakes in Venezuela in June that killed more than 6,000 people.