Rescue teams organize the search for people at a landslide of a mountain in the sector El Ruso, Pueblo Rico in the district of Risaralda, Colombia, on Dec. 5.STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images
A mudslide unleashed by torrential rain buried a bus and two other vehicles in central Colombia, killing at least 27 people and leaving others trapped as rescuers tried to reach them in the wreckage on Monday.
The mudslide late Sunday divided a highway in two in the town of Pueblo Rico in the district of Risaralda.
The dead included three children, President Gustavo Petro tweeted. Several more people were rescued and taken to hospitals. More than 70 search-and-rescue workers using backhoes and other equipment tried to reach the rest.
“Solidarity with the victims’ families, they’ll have the complete support of the national government,” Petro added as he confirmed the death toll.
The public bus was carrying more than 20 people and was left buried in the wreckage of the highway. The town had been under a mudslide threat due to heavy rains caused by the La Nina weather phenomenon, according to Colombia’s national emergency management agency.