At least 36 individuals have now been confirmed lifeless in a sequence of landslides that hit northwestern Colombia final week, based on an official tally Sunday.
Earlier, officers had put the toll from Friday’s landslides, which hit a highway linking the cities of Medellin and Quibdo, at 23 lifeless.
Rescuers and emergency employees, utilizing sniffer canine and bulldozers, have been racing towards the clock Monday to search for at the very least seven individuals who have been nonetheless lacking.
“To all the families of the victims, my heartfelt condolences,” stated President Gustavo Petro.
Pope Francis additionally provided prayers for the victims from the Vatican.
Videos shared on social media confirmed a part of a mountain breaking unfastened and crashing down onto a line of vehicles, as screams broke out.
The landslides in Colombia’s Choco division, which lies on the Pacific Ocean, adopted greater than 24 hours of intense rain.
The Ombudsman’s Office warned of “high risk of new landslides.”
“We call for all necessary actions to be taken in order to safeguard the lives of people who are at risk in the area,” the workplace stated in a bulletin.
A landslide in the identical a part of Colombia in December 2022 killed at the very least 27 individuals, trapping individuals in a bus and different autos.
While a lot of Colombia is struggling by means of drought, meteorologists have warned of the chance of heavy rains in a number of departments bordering the Pacific.
Source: www.dailysabah.com