A landslide following weeks of drenching rains buried more than 50 homes in north-western Colombia, killing at least two people and likely leaving dozens trapped beneath mud and rubble, officials said Sunday.
Antioquia state emergency management director John Rendon said two bodies have been recovered and six injured people have been rescued after the mudslide in the Medellin suburb of Bello.
“It was a mass landslide that buried more than 50 homes approximately and we are talking about 40 or 50 people possibly being underneath the rubble,” Mr. Rendon said.
Landslides are common in Colombia’s rugged Andes mountains, and rains have been especially heavy this year. The Red Cross attributes at least 176 deaths to the season’s rains.
Mr. Rendon said trained dogs were attempting to locate people beneath tons of sodden earth. Authorities are also trying to get heavy equipment to the scene.
Antioquia Gov. Luis Alfredo Ramos said some families will be evacuated from homes in high-risk zones.
Colombia’s Red Cross is conducting a census of the area to determine the number of missing people.
