Rescuers search for survivors after 58 killed in Colombia landslide

Rescuers searched for more bodies and sought to aid the hundreds of survivors of a deadly flood and mudslide triggered by heavy rains that swept through a Colombian town, carrying away homes and people. The avalanche of mud and debris roared through an alpine town of Salgar before dawn on Monday, killing at least 58 people, but authorities said an undetermined number of people were still missing. Survivors recalled being stirred from their beds by a loud rumble and neighbors’ shouts, barely having enough time to gather their loved ones as modestly built homes and bridges plunged into the Libordiana ravine.

The earth slid into the course of the La Liboriana ravine, then the dammed water caused an avalanche which destroyed everything in its path.

Regional police commander Jose Angel Mendoza

Dozens of rescuers supported by Black Hawk helicopters on Monday evacuated residents near the ravine for fear of another mudslide. By Monday evening, Carlos Ivan Marquez, head of the National Disasters Unit, said 58 people had been killed and 37 injured. An undetermined number of people were missing. The flooding destroyed the town’s aqueduct and even areas in less hazardous zones experienced flooding. Authorities provided water, food supplies and blankets to help residents cope with what they described as a humanitarian emergency.

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