At least 14 people have been killed and five injured in a landslide in the southwestern Colombian province of Cauca, the country’s disaster relief agency said yesterday.
A large part of a mountain broke off in the southwestern Colombian province of Cauca and buried at least eight houses, the country’s disaster relief agency announced
The landslide, which was caused by heavy rains, took place in the early hours of the morning in a rural area of Rosas municipality, the agency said in a statement.
Five people have been hospitalised and rescue operations are ongoing, the statement said.
Houses have been damaged and a portion of the Pan-American Highway is blocked because of the landslide, the head of the disaster management service for the
department of Cauca told the broadcaster Radio Caracol.
Landslides are common in mountainous Colombia, especially during rainy season and in areas where precarious informal housing and narrow roadways are constructed on deforested Andean hillsides
The national army has been sent in to the area to help with the rescue effort, according to local reports.
The mayor’s office has opened its doors to provide shelter and a place for people to be reunited with their missing loved ones.
It is possible there are more victims buried in the mud and debris, reports said.

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