Rescuers continue searching for survivors in the mud following the disaster at Risalda, a coffee-growing region.
According to Colombia’s national disaster agency, at least 14 people were killed and 35 others injured when a landslide caused the destruction of several homes in central Colombia.
According to the UNGRD (National Unit for Disaster Risk Management), 35 people were injured, 14 died, and one remains missing.
Dosquebredas’ early morning landslide was caused by torrential rain in Risalda, a nearby coffee-growing province.
Rescue teams searched the mud looking for survivors.
A very loud noise scared ourselves. We saw a part of the mountain that was above our houses when we went out, Dubernei Hernandez, a 42-year-old taxi driver, told the AFP news agency.
I visited that location and it was a disaster. There were people trapped.
Hernandez claimed that he was a part of the excavations that led to the discovery of two bodies and one survivor. Hernandez said that at least five homes were submerged in the mud.
Authorities evacuated dozens more homes nearby amid fears of more landlides caused by the Otun river’s overflow.
We are currently managing all evacuation perimeters because we still detect soil instability,” Alvaro Arias – Risaralda government secretary – told Blu Radio.
People panic in the face of another landslide warning [Luis Robayo/AFP]Colombia is prone to landslides due to its mountainous terrain, frequent heavy rainfalls, and poor or informal housing construction.
The most recent large landslide catastrophe in the country was in Mocoa, where more than 321 people were killed in 2017.