A landslide recorded this Tuesday leaves so far seven disappeared and regarding sixty houses buried in the Peruvian province of Pataz, in the north of the country, reported the National Police.
“I have arranged for the head of the National Civil Defense Institute and the Minister of Defense to go to the area affected by the landslide in the province of Pataz, in the La Libertad region. We will support the affected families and we will articulate various actions with the local authorities”, published the president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, on Twitter.
I have arranged for the head of the @indeciperu and the Minister of Defense go to the area affected by the landslide in the province of Pataz in the La Libertad region. We will support the affected families and coordinate various actions with the local authorities.
– Pedro Castillo Terrones (@PedroCastilloTe) March 15, 2022
Police Lieutenant Carlos Valderrama reported on Channel N that they have “information that there would be 7 missing persons, including three minors” and added that, so far, four people have been rescued.
The numbers of buried houses differ, but local media point out that it might be up to 80, since the landslide affected two blocks.
The heavy rains that have been recorded these days in the region of La Libertad may be the cause of this landslide, which occurred in the town of Retamas, in the district of Parcoy, belonging to Pataz, regarding 900 kilometers north of Lima.
The regional governor and president of the Regional Emergency Platform, Manuel Llempen, called an emergency meeting to take immediate action to help the affected population, according to La República media, and a rescue and rapid intervention team from the Army with 50 people, he has already left for the area to support the work.
Llempen reported the event to the President of the Council of Ministers, Aníbal Torres, to activate the necessary actions.
For his part, the Minister of Defense, José Gavidia, indicated on Twitter that, “together with a rapid response team from the National Institute of Civil Defense”, they are heading “in an emergency to the town of Retamas, district of Parcoy (La Libertad). ) to attend to the emergency in the event of a landslide on a hillside.
“We will provide all the necessary help to the affected families,” the minister reiterated.