Strong Quake Jolts Colombia

Bogota (Antara Bali) - A powerful earthquake rocked southwestern Colombia on Saturday, damaging more than 100 homes and causing minor injuries to six people, but sparing serious damage to roads and bridges, authorities said.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.9 magnitude. Its epicenter was 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Pasto, near the Ecuador border, and was 80 miles (130 km) deep.

The quake, originally measured at 7.0, was felt hundreds of miles south in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, where buildings shook for at least two minutes. Some residents in the Colombian capital, Bogota, were evacuated briefly.

A few people suffered minor injuries and some buildings, mainly private homes, were damaged.

"For the time being, the assessment shows that 124 homes, a  health clinic and three schools have been damaged, and a churchwas destroyed, but no one was killed or disappeared. There are five adults and a child with (minor) injuries," said Carlos Ivan Marquez, the head of the national emergency services office.

"We confirm that we have not issued a tsunami warning and that there have been no aftershocks," he told reporters. (*/Reuters/DWA)