A strong magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck in the Andes mountains of southwest Colombia yesterday, Colombian and US earthquake monitoring services reported.

The quake struck at 1631 GMT some 20 kilometers east of the Colombian town of La Vega and 326 kilometres north-east of Quito, Ecuador, said the US Geological Service, which monitors earthquakes worldwide.

In Colombia, the National Seismological Network reported the same magnitude and said the epicenter of the quake was 169 kilometres underground. There was no tsunami alert, nor immediate reports of injuries or damage from the affected area.

The quake shook Ecuador’s capital Quito and other regions for about 30 seconds, and was felt particularly in tall buildings in the capital.

Radio stations in Ecuador interrupted their broadcasting to report on the quake, which also prompted many posts on Twitter.

Both Colombia and Ecuador are located in a region prone to seismic activity.

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