Colombian earthquake leaves 11 dead, triggering landslides and cutting water supply

Published on Monday 26 May 2008 00:33

AN earthquake rocked Colombia yesterday, killing at least 11 people, damaging scores of homes and triggering landslides.

In the rural town of Quetame, the most seriously hit, families spent the night sheltering on the town's football field or in a public building after the quake knocked out water supplies and flattened houses and a church.

Colombia's Red Cross said at least 11 people died and 54 were injured, with about 5,000 affected by damaged houses and buildings.

"People are still really terrified about a second or third one coming," Benedicto Enciso said as he sheltered with his companion and two children after their home was damaged.

"We're trying to put up a tent for 20 people."

President Alvaro Uribe visited the affected area, where landslides blocked a highway from Bogota to Villavicencio near the epicentre, which was 33 miles south-east of the capital.

Colombia's disaster prevention office said in Quetame alone about 3,300 people were affected.

Panicked residents in Bogota fled into the streets when the quake rattled buildings, and one Bogota government office was evacuated after a shower of bricks tumbled off a wall.

Colombia was hit in 1999 by a 6.2-magnitude quake that killed at least 1,230 people and left more than 250,000 homeless.