A landslide has killed 13 people and left 27 others injured in a village in southeastern Colombia, forcing hundreds of homes to be evacuated in the area.
“The latest report … says 13 dead and 27 injured taken to hospital, with three people presumed missing,” La Cruz township mayor Alexander Realpe said on Thursday.
Rescue workers in the village of San Gerardo are searching through mud and debris to look for survivors. Local officials have expressed concerns about climbing casualty figures, AFP reported.
The landslide has also forced 400 families in the area to evacuate their homes.
Officials say the landslide occurred party due to removal of sand from the mountainsides above the town by local residents, allowing the waterlogged earth to give way more easily.
In a separate incident on Thursday, another landslide in the village of La Ceiba in northern Colombia left 5 people missing.
Earlier this month, a landslide struck a neighborhood outside Medellin in northern Colombia, killing about 100 people.
This year Colombia has been hit by the La Nina weather phenomenon which has brought about the country's rainiest season in 4 decades.
So far, floods and landslides have claimed the lives of about 300 people and left 60 others missing. The phenomenon has also affected the lives of 2 million people in the country.
ASH/MB