More than 300 families have been affected by the landslide, which was captured on video showing the several kilometers that it affected.
Videos taken from the ground and from the air show the magnitude of the landslide that cut off the southwest of the country, and prompted Colombian President Gustavo Petro to shorten his visit to Chile and return to his country.
“President Gustavo Petro decides to cancel his agenda today in Chile to return to Colombia to review the issue of Rosas (Cauca). It is not yet defined if he will arrive in the area, ”said the Presidency in a brief message sent to the press this Tuesday.
“It is a movement of land that compromises around 50 hectares, we are talking about eight to nine million cubic meters that may be threatening the area (…) There is a fairly large movement of land that has not been determined and there is no solution immediate response that we can give to this site”, said the director of the National Institute of Roads (Invias), Juan Alfonso Latorre.
The landslide was caused by a geological fault and destroyed 500 meters of the Pan-American international highway as it passes through Cauca, in southern Colombia, leaving more than 300 families isolated, according to Colombian authorities.
“We have a total closure of the Pan-American Highway due to the landslide at kilometer 75, Chontaduro village. We recommend that road users use alternate corridors,” said the commander of the Cauca Police, Colonel José Ricardo Archila, quoted by the W Radio station.
More than 300 families have been affected by the landslide and dozens have already been evacuated, while the rest remain trapped.
Everything points to a geological movement added to the heavy rains that have caused landslides and cracks in the earth that have left the villages of Soledad, Párraga Viejo, Santa Clara and Chontaduro cut off.
The president of the village Community Action Board, Paola Andrea Valencia, has indicated that the situation is extremely distressing because the landslide has already destroyed several homes and the Alfonso Córdoba school. “We have people trapped. The village of Párraga Viejo and part of La Soledad have already been lost ”, she has warned.
The inhabitants have already requested air support to evacuate several families that were trapped. “We need urgent help,” stressed Valencia, quoted by Caracol Radio.