Bogotá: Local officials said on Saturday that a landslide in northwest Colombia has killed around 18 people and injured 30. The authorities said that the mishap took place on Friday in northwest part of the country.
A local official form from the governor’s office in Choco department said that the rote connecting the cities of Quibdo and Medellin was also temporarily closed following being damaged by various landslides in the region.
The official confirmed that 18 were killed due to landslide in the area. It added that on the road many people” got out of their vehicles to “take refuge in a house” close to the municipality of Carmen de Atrato, “but unfortunately a landslide took place and buried them.
Landslide Kills 18 in Colombia
Vice President Francia Marquez said on social media account that about 30 people were wounded in the accident. Jaime Herrera, the mayor of the city said that people were “seriously wounded” in the landslide while others were still stranded under it, without giving more details.
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Photos on social media and tv showed vehicles destroyed by landslides and mud in the region. The department of Choco is home to a huge tropical forest, has been hit by heavy rain in the last 24 hours. While Colombia is going via a period of dearth, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies had earlier warned of the risk of heavy rains in several in the region.
