2024-01-15 05:33:50
– The death toll from landslides rises to 36
Landslides hit a road in northwestern Colombia on Friday, killing at least 36 people according to the latest report from authorities.
Published today at 6:33 a.m.
The department of Choco has been prey to heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours.
AFP
Rescuers discovered a 36th victim of Friday’s landslides in northwestern Colombia on Sunday, according to a new report from the authorities, while seven people are still missing.
A previous count reported 33 dead and 10 missing. Twenty people were injured in the landslides which covered the road between Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city, and Quibdo.
“In the last few hours, three new bodies have been found. Two identified by their relatives, one person who has still not been identified,” said the office of the governor of the department of Choco in a press release.
200 people mobilized
“Most” of the people who died in this disaster in the municipality of Carmen de Atrato are children from an indigenous community, vice-president Francia Marquez wrote on the social network “To all the families of the victims, my condolences (…) We hope to find” the missing and “we hope that they are not dead,” declared President Gustavo Petro.
The department of Choco, which borders the Pacific Ocean and is home to a vast tropical forest, has been prey to heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours. More than 200 people, firefighters, rescuers, soldiers and residents are taking part in the search, while relatives of the missing waited for news.
Prayers of Pope Francis
Pope Francis prayed “for the victims of the landslide in Colombia” during the traditional Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. President Petro promised “all available help to the Choco in this horrible tragedy.”
While Colombia is going through an episode of drought, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) had warned of the risk of heavy rains in several departments bordering the Pacific and the Amazon. “The possibility of further landslides is there, at this precise location. There were two days of sunshine, the risk is less, but as soon as the rains start, all the personnel involved in the activity and those who are here are in danger,” warned Mr. Petro.
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