Authorities and rescuers work in an area affected by an avalanche in Pereira. SANTIAGO GAVIRIA (EFE)
Rescue efforts continue in the city of Pereira, the capital of the department of Risaralda, in central Colombia, where more than a dozen people have died in a landslide caused by more than 12 continuous hours of heavy rain.
“We deeply regret what happened between Dosquebradas and Pereira, Risaralda, where a mass movement has so far left 11 people dead, 35 injured and material losses caused.
Relief teams from the department are attending to the situation,” President Iván Duque wrote on his social networks on Tuesday afternoon, minutes before the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) raised the death toll to 14. .
Another person is still missing.
Duque expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and asked the UNGRD "to be ready to intervene when required."
The avalanche buried several homes in the La Esneda neighborhood at dawn, according to the entity in charge of dealing with this type of emergency.
Some constructions were dragged to the Otún River, which crosses Pereira and is overflowing, according to the testimonies of the inhabitants of the area.
Firefighters and neighbors are still looking for people buried in the rubble.
#Risaralda |
Response and attention work continues in #Pereira and #Dosquebradas after the mass movement that affected the community of the La Esneda neighborhood.
Updated report indicates that 35 people were injured, 14 lost their lives and 1 remains missing.
pic.twitter.com/JPrFnVqFEG
– UNGRD🇨🇴 (@UNGRD) February 8, 2022
“Two blocks around the landslide have already been evacuated, since a high flow of the Otún River continues to be present, generating a high risk,” warned the Dosquebradas Fire Department, which is part of the same metropolitan area.
The Dosquebradas mayor's office reported that it manages food and shelter for the evacuated families, in addition to medical and psychological care.
Among the deceased there are at least two minors, and given the risk that the slope continues to give way, 15 homes have already been vacated, reported the mayor of Pereira, Carlos Maya.
"It is still a risk area," said the councilman, recalling that a similar tragedy had already occurred in the area in the 1970s.
With nearly half a million inhabitants, Pereira is the most populous city in the so-called coffee axis, the mountainous region that brings together the departments of Risaralda, Caldas and Quindío.
“The banks of the Otún River have been invaded many times and although we have evicted it so that the families do not live at risk, many people return.
Now we are focused on recovering the bodies and finding more survivors and then we will think about relocation," Maya said in statements collected by the newspaper.
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