Eight children are missing, trapped by a landslide that swept away a rural school in northwestern Colombia, authorities said Thursday.
“
A landslide washed away the Porvenir rural school.
The initial information reports eight trapped children
, ”wrote Daniel Quintero, the mayor of Medellin, capital of the department of Antioquia in which the landslide took place, on Twitter.
Videos circulating on social media show dozens of villagers trying to clear a mound covered in uprooted trees and debris.
In statements to local media, Eliana Rincones, the only teacher at the school, said that 22 children were in the school at the time of the tragedy.
"
We were all at recess when suddenly we heard something very loud, we all turned around (to look), within seconds we were all running (...) we didn't even know where we were running, we didn't 'just ran
,' she explained.
The landslide occurred after intense rains hit much of Colombia due to the La Niña weather phenomenon.
According to forecasters, this heavy rainfall is expected to continue until September.
