The 7.4-magnitude earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey, struck at a depth of around 107 kilometres near San Jose del Palmar in Chocó province on Colombia’s Pacific coast.

The earthquake was felt across the country, with the US Geological Survey warning that significant casualties and widespread damage were possible.

The highest reported death toll was in Risaralda province, where Governor Juan Diego Patiño said 42 people had been killed.

In the provincial capital Pereira, footage showed part of a building collapsing as clouds of dust and debris spread across the street.

In Manizales, the earthquake toppled one of the towers of a Gothic-style cathedral. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said three people were killed in the city.

At least one person was killed in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main Pacific port, after a building collapsed and trapped several people.

People trapped in Cali

Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, was also badly affected, with more than two dozen structures reported to have collapsed.

Mayor Alejandro Eder said rescue teams were responding to at least 12 critical locations and 25 collapsed structures.

Two people, including an elderly woman and a young girl, had been rescued alive, but several others remained trapped.

Authorities in Cali requested additional disaster-response teams from Bogotá and Medellín to assist with rescue operations.

In neighbouring Chocó, Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi reported injuries and significant damage in the provincial capital Quibdó and warned residents to remain alert for aftershocks.

Images from Cali also showed hospital staff moving patients outside in beds as a precaution.

Airports closed for inspections

Colombia’s civil aviation authority temporarily suspended flights at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while inspectors assessed possible structural damage.

The earthquake occurred at 7:34am local time and was felt in nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals.

The US tsunami warning system said there was no threat of a tsunami.

The earthquake was also felt across the border in Venezuela. Reuters witnesses reported tremors in Táchira state and the central-western city of Barquisimeto.

New government faces first major crisis

The disaster struck only days after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as Colombia’s president, presenting his administration with its first major crisis.

De La Espriella, a right-wing politician and former presidential candidate who had never previously held elected office, said he was suspending his planned activities to coordinate the emergency response from Bogotá.

Colombia is prone to earthquakes because the country lies across several geological fault systems and is crossed by three ranges of the Andes.

The country has also experienced major disasters linked to earthquakes and landslides. A devastating earthquake in the coffee-growing region in 1999 killed more than 1,000 people, while the 1985 Armero disaster, triggered by a volcanic eruption and subsequent landslides, killed around 25,000 people.

The latest earthquake also came shortly after devastating earthquakes struck neighbouring Venezuela in June, killing more than 6,000 people, according to the figures cited in the report.