Sky News presenter Jayne Secker halted the broadcast to bring viewers the news that multiple deaths have been confirmed following an earthquake in Colombia. She verified at least 20 people have been killed in the 7.4 magnitude quake, which struck the Chocó region in the west of the country, with the epicentre in San Jose del Palma.
Quake Felt Hundreds of Miles Away
She told viewers: "It was felt hundreds of miles away in the capital Bogota, and even in neighbouring Ecuador." She then cut to correspondent David Blevins for further updates.
"I think there is a very real possibility that the number will rise further," he said. "The details [are] still coming in to us. What we can tell you at this point is that the earthquake happened about three and a half hours ago on the Pacific coast of Colombia, registering 7.4... The one hope, perhaps, is that it has been recorded at 66 miles deep. By comparison, the deadly earthquakes in Venezuela in June were just six miles deep," he explained.
Epicentre and Impact
He continued: "But the epicentre was San Jose del Palmar in the Chocó district. That's about 250 miles west of the capital Bogota. The tremors we're told were also felt in neighbouring Ecuador."
"The governor of Chocó is reporting that there are many injuries and many buildings have collapsed there, particularly in a town called Quiddo, where there is a population of 130,000 people."
Footage coming in shows buildings collapsing in Quiddo, in Cali, in Pereira. In fact, footage also coming in shows that the clock tower has collapsed onto the Neo-Gothic cathedral in Manzales.
Rescue Efforts Underway
"The president of Colombia says he's deeply aware of what's occurring there and has posted that he will personally oversee the rescue and recovery efforts."
He confirmed this was a monumental blow for the region telling Secker: "This really is devastating for this part of the world."
"It comes so soon after two back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela, registering 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. So very similar to today's 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Colombia, and those earthquakes in Venezuela in June claimed 6,000 lives."
"The one hope may be that this one is much deeper, and they will be hoping for a much lower death toll."
"But the news is just breaking still, and we will keep you up to date as much as we can as details come into us," he assured viewers.
