18 dead, 106 missing in Colombian landslide

BOGOTA: At least 18 people died and 106 were missing after a landslide in northwestern Colombia, local media reported.Seven people were rescued and 18 bodies recovered in the town of Bello, officials said. An estimated 124 people were buried in the mudslide, which occurred on Sunday in a mountainous area near Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city.Close to 700 rescue workers were deployed to the area. Locals claimed they had been warning of the risk of mudslides for weeks, but that the authorities did not heed their calls for preventive measures to be taken.
Civil rights groups say they have been warning about the chances of a landslide in what is a poor slum area where residents live illegally.Luis Alfredo Ramos, the governor of Antioquia province where Bello is located, said water leaking from a parking lot further uphill could have contributed significantly to the disaster.
Caracol television reported that a garbage dump had previously been located above the settlement and could have contributed to the landslide.The mudslide is believed to have been triggered by heavy rains, said to be the worst in four decades. However, it had not rained in recent days in the vicinity of the disaster zone.
"Only god knows my pain," said Luis Fernando, whose wife, 11-year-old daughter and six-year-old nephew were buried in the mud.At least 50 houses were destroyed in the mudslide. Hundreds of people living near the worst-affected site were also forced to leave their homes as a precaution, Ramos said.

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