Panama airport closed after earthquake

Tocumen International Airport in Panama is temporarily closed after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.

Flights heading to Tocumen are being diverted to other airports.

The airport is planned to resume operations after checking the safety of the airport building and the operation of the control tower.

MEXICO CITY, October 9 - RIA Novosti. Tocumen International Airport in Panama is temporarily closed after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, the airport authority said in a statement published by local media.

According to information from the flightradar24 service, flights heading to Tocumen are now being redirected to other airports. In particular, the flight from Barcelona (Venezuela) to Panama was redirected to Monteria, the Barquisimeto flight to Barranquilla in Colombia, and the plane operating the Caracas-Panama flight returned to Maiquetia airport.

The airport is reportedly planning to resume operations after checking the safety of the airport building itself and the operation of the control tower.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 was recorded at 12.56 local time. According to the Institute of Geosciences of the University of Panama, the outbreak lay at a depth of four kilometers, the epicenter was 39 kilometers northwest of Tonosi. After the main earthquake, a series of aftershocks with a magnitude of up to 6.1 occurred on the territory and waters of Panama.