Strong Colombia Quake Kills 3, Injures 40

BOGOTA, Colombia — A strong earthquake shook central Colombia early Thursday, rattling buildings, sending citizens running to the streets in panic and cutting telephone lines. At least three people were killed and 40 others injured.

The eight-second quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 at its epicenter in Tauramena, 90 miles east of Bogota, according to the Geophysics Institute of the University of the Andes. Pat Jorgenson of the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., said their instruments registered 6.5.

Damage was not greater because of the earthquake’s short duration, experts told RCN Radio.

In Bogota, a wall collapsed on construction workers, killing one and injuring another, police Gen. Luis Ernesto Chilivert said. The tremor caused at least 30 traffic accidents and one fire, he said. Gov. Jose Perilla of Boyaca state confirmed two other deaths.

Traders at the Bogota stock exchange rushed out of the tall stock market building in panic as pieces fell from the roof. Trading was halted for 40 minutes.

Shoppers ran screaming from Bogota’s Centro Andino mall as pieces of marble fell off walls and ceilings, but no one was seriously injured, television reports said.