A national disaster has been declared; People trapped in the rubble, 111 people killed PHOTO/VIDEO

The President of Colombia said that at least 87 people were injured in the earthquake, 1,575 homes were damaged, while 61 buildings were completely destroyed.

Espriella stressed that rescuing the victims was his government's priority.

At a meeting of the Joint Crisis Management Center in Bogotá, chaired by the Colombian president, the declaration of a national disaster had previously been approved.

Forty people were killed in the city of Pereira, Mayor Mauricio Salazar said, according to El País.

Two people were killed in the city of Manizales, while 27 died in the department of Valle del Cauca, which includes Cali, Colombia's third-largest city, officials said.

The city of Cali suffered extensive material damage. Mayor Alejandro Eder said that at least 30 buildings had collapsed and that people were trapped in the rubble.

"I have requested assistance from Bogotá and Medellín to send rescuers," Eder wrote in a message posted on his social media account, urging residents to "remain calm and leave buildings" if they see major cracks.

He said that 38 people had been rescued.

According to the newspaper, this allows funds for dealing with the consequences of the emergency to be made available more quickly, but it is not the same as declaring an economic and social state of emergency, which would allow the president to issue decrees with the force of law.

Airports in Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura suspended operations after suffering damage in the earthquake.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck about 34 kilometers northwest of the city of Cartago, with the epicenter located at a depth of 115 kilometers.

The governor of Colombia's western Chocó department, Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi, said that there was "significant damage" to buildings and that several people were injured in the department's capital, Quibdó.

In Quibdó, which is located on the Pacific coast, several buildings collapsed and there were injuries, but the exact number of casualties was not yet known, the Chocó governor said.

According to Público, the earthquake damaged the cathedral and more than 10 airports.

Part of the roof at Matecaña International Airport collapsed, while rescue teams are attempting to reach people trapped in the rubble.

According to local time, the earthquake was felt early this morning in Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama as well.