10 hours ago
Bogota earthquake as huge 6.3 tremor causes chaos at Colombia tourist attraction
The incident plunged the capital city into a state of panic as sirens blared and locals rushed from their homes.
A huge earthquake has rocked Bogota causing chaos at a popular tourist attraction. The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported that the strong 6.5-magnitude rumble and struck the Colombian capital city earlier today, just after 8am local time (2pm GMT).
The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10km (6.21 miles), making it considerably stronger. No immediate casualtie s or large-scale damage have been reported at this stage, but the natural event plunged the city into a state of panic.
Local media reported hearing sirens blaring around the area, urging locals to rush from their homes. Locals were seen flooding the streets to get out of the way of the shaking buildings, reports the Mirror.
Street lights could be seen shaking and buildings cracking as the tremors continued to rumble on.
The 6.1-magnitude quake reportedly hit the gondola lift system in Bogota, forcing a mass evacuation of the aerial transport cars.
TransMicable carries as many as 7,000 people every hour in a luxury transportation system often frequented by tourists.
Chaos ensued after the tremors, with TransMicable staff seen ushering guests away from the location.
Writing on their page on X, the company said at 8:17am local time (2:17pm BST): 'Evacuation of TransMiCable begins due to a strong earthquake that occurred in Bogotá.'
Colombia sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a portion of the world known for heavy seismic and volcanic activity.
Back in 1999, a magnitude slightly weaker than today's (6.2) killed nearly 1,200 people in the country. It also caused devastating damage, mainly in the areas of Armenia and Perreira.
