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Türkiye's Foreign Ministry extended condolences to Colombia on Monday after a powerful earthquake killed at least 111 people and injured dozens more, triggering a national disaster declaration and large-scale rescue operations across the country.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and material damage caused by the earthquake that struck Colombia today," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
The Foreign Ministry said it was extending its sympathies "to the families of those who lost their lives in the earthquake and to the people of Colombia." The ministry added that the Turkish Embassy in Bogota was in contact with Turkish citizens in Colombia and closely monitoring their situation following the disaster.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia early Monday, collapsing buildings and prompting emergency response efforts in multiple cities. In addition to the fatalities, at least 87 people were injured, Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella told reporters.
De La Espriella said the earthquake damaged 1,575 homes, of which 37 were completely destroyed, while 61 buildings collapsed altogether. The quake also damaged 18 health centers, 52 educational centers, 17 community centers and 18 roads, according to the president. In response to the scale of destruction, the Colombian government declared a national disaster to strengthen coordination among institutional agencies handling the emergency.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time, with its epicenter located about 5 kilometers east of San Jose del Palmar, a town in Colombia's Choco Department. The agency said the quake originated at a depth of 107 kilometers. San Jose del Palmar has a population of roughly 4,800 people and sits at an elevation of 1,288 meters above sea level.
A magnitude 5.0 aftershock followed at 8:18 a.m., striking approximately 16 kilometers west of the same town.
Despite the earthquake's strength, the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunami was expected to affect the U.S. states of California, Oregon, Washington or Alaska, nor Canada's British Columbia. Colombian authorities likewise said there was no tsunami threat to the country's Pacific coast.
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