At least seven people have been killed in a landslide that buried homes in northern Peru

At seven the death toll from landslide in northern Peru on Tuesday that buried many housesas Three more bodies were retrieved from the rescue teams, a mother and her two sons. Research operations continue as well at least one missing person remainsaccording to the information from the local authorities.

On Tuesday, tons of rocks and soil buried seven houses built on a hill in the isolated town of Retamas (5,000 inhabitants), at an altitude of 2,800 meters, in the district of La Libertad, 500 km north of Lima, 16 hours drive from Trujillo, the capital of the region.

Its president PeruPedro Castillo, who went to the area, stigmatized the poverty that pushes citizens to build houses in areas at high risk of natural disasters.

This site was “designated a high risk area”For his part, Miguel Yamasaki, a senior Civil Protection official in charge of prevention, said.

Landslides are common in the summer of the southern hemisphere in the Peruvian Andes, due to seasonal rains.

In 2009, at least 13 people, including a child, were killed in a landslide in Retamas.

In mid-February, in Brazil, more than 200 people lost their lives in Petropolis, a mountain tourist destination near Rio, when flash floods and landslides occurred, destroying in particular dozens of houses that had been erected on a hillside.