Quake shakes central Colombia, seven dead

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

BOGOTA (AFP) — A strong earthquake struck central Colombia Saturday, killing at least seven people and sending thousands of panicky residents into Bogota's streets, authorities said.

The quake shook this Andean capital for several seconds. State geological agency Ingeominas put the strength of the quake, which hit at 1920 GMT, at 5.5 on the open-ended Richter scale -- the strongest temblor to jolt the capital in a decade.

The US Geological Survey in Colorado said the quake registered 5.7 on the moment magnitude scale, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released. Its center was about 54 kilometers (33 miles) east-southeast of Bogota.

Seven people were killed in at least three car crashes on Colombia's highways as a result...