Five of Colombia's airports remain closed to the public following the earthquake, according to Aeronáutica Civil, Colombia's civil aviation authority.

It says Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura airports are being used for only "medical and government" flights, while damage is assessed.

It adds that flights from Guillermo León Valencia Airport, in Popayán, remain "restricted" due to emissions from the Puracé volcano.

Aeronáutica Civil says it is assisting local authorities through its aviation firefighting and search and rescue teams, while also helping to assess damage to infrastructure.

It has also urged passengers whose scheduled flights have been affected to contact the respective airlines.

Image source, Reuters

It's a fast moving situation in Colombia, where the damage and casualties following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake are still being worked out.

Here's what we know currently:

• Dozens of people are reported to have died after a powerful earthquake hit western Colombia, according to local officials
• Airports have shut, buildings have been damaged and schools have closed across wide swathes of the country

• The earthquake was measured at magnitude 7.4, with its epicentre occurring 107km (66 miles) below San José del Palmar, in Colombia's Chocó region
• It is the strongest quake to hit Colombia in more than a decade, according to the Colombian Geological Service
• The US government is monitoring the situation and "stands ready" to support, says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

What we don't know:

• The death toll - figures released so far are the deaths that have been confirmed in the hours following the quake, we do not yet know an exact number
• The true extent of the damage - some areas are cut off due to damage to roads and authorities will continue to asses the impact over the coming days and weeks

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Shaimaa Khalil
North America correspondent

As pictures and videos begin to emerge from different parts of the affected region, we are getting a clearer sense of the extent of the destruction.

Footage from southern Cali, shows the remains of a three-story building that appears to have largely collapsed.

People can be seen carrying concrete slabs, as twisted metal and sections of the roof are piled across the site with emergency crews working through the debris, searching for people trapped beneath it and helping the injured.

Our local journalist in Cali says rescuers have just pulled a woman from the rubble alive. Crowds have gathered near the scene, while emergency workers continue to search what remains of the building.

Elsewhere, footage from Manizales shows an entire section of an apartment block collapsing, sending a thick cloud of dust into the street as people watch and scream. The city’s cathedral has also been badly damaged, with its clock tower left leaning heavily to one side.

Other footage shows people running between parked ambulances as parts of a hospital building’s façade fall around them.

Image source, UNGRD

Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella has arrived in Bogotá to lead the emergency response.

At this time, he is in the National Crisis Room of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) with his vice president, ministers and senior officials of the sector, reports BBC Mundo.

De la Espriella previously posted on social media that he would do "everything necessary" to protect and support affected regions.

"You are not alone," he wrote on X.

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor

Colombia's Caracol Radio is keeping a tally of those who are known to have died in the quake.

Their latest figures are as follows:

• 28 dead in Valle del Cauca department
• 18 deceased in Pereira
• 2 in Manizales
• 1 in Quibdó the capital of the Chocó region
• 1 in Medellín

Colombia's location - which sits at the intersection of several tectonic plates - makes it a prime location for strong seismic activity, and thus, strong earthquakes often happen.

Usually, the earthquakes are stronger along the subduction zones, which sit near the coast. Those quakes can also trigger smaller tsunamis, which can cause even further damage.

Since 1950, over 3,500 people have died as a direct result of earthquakes in Colombia. The most deadly of those was in 1999, when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Armenia, Calarca, Pereira, Caldas and Huila, killing 1,185 people.

Most recently, last year, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Cundinamarca. No one was killed.

Image source, Getty Images

Ecuador's president is pledging to mobilise rescue teams to help with Colombia's recovery mission.

"All our solidarity with Colombia and with the families affected by this morning's earthquake," Daniel Noboa Azin writes on X.

"We place our USAR team at your disposal: 47 rescuers, specialized dogs, and equipment with autonomy to operate for 7 days.

"We are ready to mobilize whenever you require."

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

No serious structural damage has been reported in Colombia's capital, according to the city's mayor.

Carlos Fernando Galán, mayor of Bogotá, says the capital's capabilities are "at the service of the country" and the cities most affected by the earthquake.

In a statement on X, Galán says 100 rescuers are already prepared to head to CATAM - a military airport in Bogotá - and they will then proceed to the cities prioritised by Colombia's national government.

"We stand in solidarity with the affected cities," he adds.

There is no tsunami threat to Colombia's Pacific coast following the 7.4 magnitude earthquake, according to the country's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).

UNGRD attributes the update to the Colombian Maritime Authority in a statement on X.

Image source, Reuters

The United States government is "closely monitoring" the earthquake that has struck Colombia and "stands ready to support", according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

He advises US citizens in Colombia to register their presence online with the US State Department and follow official channels for the latest information.

We can bring you now some images from Colombia after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck.

Rescue efforts are underway, with many looking under rubble for anyone who could be trapped.

Image source, EPA/Shuttershock

Image source, EPA/Shuttershock

Image source, EPA/Shuttershock

Hospitals in city of Cali damaged by quakepublished at 16:59 BST

16:59 BST

Image source, X

By Richard Irvine-Brown, Kumar Malhotra and Emma Pengelly

Videos from the city of Cali, 200km (130 miles) to the south west of Manizales, have also shown the scale of damage the quake has brought.

One video, filmed from the high hills overlooking the city shows giant plumes of dust and debris thrown up across the west of the city.

Another shows the façade of an EPS Sanitas, a Colombian healthcare provider, collapsing onto ambulances along a crowded street.

Meanwhile, a third video shows five of the six storeys of a wing of the Valle Evaristo Garcia university hospital have collapsed.

All classes have been suspended in the schools and universities of Manizales, the capital of Colombia's Caldas region.

Located less than 100km (62 miles) from the epicentre of the quake, the mayor's office for Manizales urged schools and pupils to "stay tuned to official channels" to learn about new provisions.

The epicentre of the earthquake is in western Colombia.

It sits roughly halfway between the cities of Cali and Medellín.

But people across the country and the wider region have reported feeling the tremors.

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor

The mayor of San José del Palmar, the village closest to the quake's epicentre, says it has been "completely cut off" as the main roads in and out have been damaged.

The mayor, León Fabio Marín Moncada, told Colombia's FM Radio that thankfully no lives had been lost and no one had been injured in San José.

However, at least five homes had been completely destroyed and many more were damaged, with their roofs caved in and their walls showing deep cracks.

He described the quake as being "very strong and very long-lasting" and asked for heavy machinery to be sent to clear the roads which had been blocked by debris.

Valle del Cauca Governor Dilian Francisca Toro reports that three children died in the municipality of Calima El Darién after a wall collapsed.

Another person died in Zarzal, according to Toro.

"The situation is serious," she noted while speaking from the Valle University Hospital.

The mayor of Buenaventura—located in the same department—reported at least one death and collapsed bridges.

The five deaths in Valle are in addition to the three reported by authorities in Manizales and the 18 in Pereira.

The Colombian Geological Service confirms that the earthquake is the strongest recorded in Colombia in the last decade.

"So far, two aftershocks have been recorded, with magnitudes of 2.8 and 4.8, the latter being widely felt," the service says in an update on X.

The earthquake, it says, was felt as far away as Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama.

The agency will provide "official and timely information as new data become available".

Damage seen across city of Manizales, including building collapsepublished at 16:38 BST

16:38 BST

Image source, X

By Richard Irvine-Brown and Sherie Ryder

BBC Verify has authenticated two clips from the Colombian city of Manizales, showing the extent of destruction brought by the earthquake.

On the western side of the city, damage to buildings can be seen including the clocktower of the Cathedral Basilica now slumped at a dangerous angle.

Meanwhile, a video from the eastern side shows a five-storey building collapsing while people are evacuated from the city's Catholic University across the street.

Colombia's civil aviation authority, Aeronáutica Civil, says operations have been suspended at least seven airports in Colombia following the earthquake.

It says damage has been reported at Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura airports, and so operations have been suspended for safety reasons.

In addition, operations at Popayán Airport has been suspended due to the presence of ash from the Puracé volcano.

The agency says it will "continue to monitor the situation and will report any developments in a timely manner".