Shocking video captures the exact second a historic church partially caves in, sending terrified crowds fleeing for their lives...
Heart-stopping footage has emerged of the dramatic moment a towering spire of Colombia’s iconic Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary came crashing down during a powerful earthquake that struck the country this morning.
In the chilling clip, filmed on a busy street in the coffee-growing city of Manizales, crowds of panicked locals and police officers on bright green motorcycles can be seen gathered near the neo-Gothic landmark under a clear blue sky.
Suddenly, a massive plume of dust and debris erupts from the side of the building as part of the structure gives way. People scream and scatter as the thick cloud of rubble engulfs the street, with some covering their faces and others staring in disbelief at the crumbling facade and its distinctive rose window.
The 84-second video, which has rapidly spread across social media, shows the full horror of the collapse: dust swirling high into the air, bystanders frozen in shock, and the once-proud cathedral left scarred and partially ruined.
The 7.4-magnitude quake hit at 7:34 am local time, with its epicentre near the remote village of San José del Palmar in the western Chocó department, at a depth of around 100 kilometres.
It was the strongest tremor to strike Colombia in more than a decade and was felt hundreds of kilometres away in the capital Bogotá, where buildings were evacuated, and furniture shook in newsrooms.
In Manizales, the cathedral, Colombia’s tallest church and a national monument completed in 1939, suffered one of the most visible blows. One of its towers is reported to have collapsed into the nave, while other buildings in the city partially crumbled.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as residents poured into the streets. “It was terrifying, the ground was moving and then the cathedral just started coming down,” one local said.
Authorities report injuries across the affected regions, with serious damage also recorded in Quibdó, Pereira and Cali, where multiple buildings collapsed, and people were feared trapped. Several regional airports suffered structural damage and were forced to suspend operations.
Colombia’s new President Abelardo de la Espriella said he had taken personal charge of the emergency response and vowed to stand with those affected.
The cathedral has survived previous quakes over the decades, including major ones in the 1960s and 1970s, but this morning’s powerful jolt proved too much for parts of its reinforced concrete structure.
As rescue teams continue assessing the full extent of the destruction and the risk of aftershocks, the haunting video from Manizales stands as a stark reminder of the earthquake’s devastating power.
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