Today, Tuesday (28/3), the rescue crews in the southern part of the Ecuador after the murders landslides and the heavy rains searching for the living in the wreckage.
At least 7 people have lost their lives so far, while another 62 are missing, according to the latest official tally from the authorities.
After cascades rainfall on the night of Sunday (26/3) to Monday (27/3), dozens of houses were buried by huge volumes of mud in Alausi, a municipality in the province of Ciborasso, about 300 kilometers south of the capital Quito, an Andean region hit last week by earthquake that killed 15 people, including one in neighboring Peru.
Manuel Upay, a farmer and builder, 40, told AFP that five members of his family “they are buried here”as he continued to search for his father-in-law and mother-in-law in the wreckage.
President Guillermo Lasso, arriving at the scene, said he was “mourning” because “seven people are dead and 62 people are still missing”. “We will continue rescue operations”he added, as reported by the Athens News Agency.
Hundreds of houses were destroyed
In the affected area, 600 houses that were not hit by the landslide were evacuated by order of the authorities.
Footage released by local media shows dozens of rescue workers and civilians working in the wreckage, trying to extricate people who were buried, while ambulances come and go with sirens blaring.
Huge volumes of mud and rock came rushing down from the verdant mountains around Alawsi, home to about 45,000 people. In the affected area, survivors waited for news of their loved ones.
Residents shocked by the fatal crash of the mountain that was cut off
The “fatal bang” of a part of the mountain that broke off and began to “tumble” down the slope is something that Maria Villa, 46, who was able to get out of the window of her house to save herself with her husband and daughter, will never forget. her daughter.
“I was getting ready to eat (…) and I heard the knock”, he recounted. Her husband started shouting: “the hill is collapsing”.
Maria admits that the authorities advised the family to leave the area, which was declared in February in a state of “yellow alert” due to the risk of landslides after heavy rains.
“This week we were advised to leave, but we could not leave all our belongings (…) I know that life is worth more,” he said.
Authorities had also warned against the risk of part of the E35 motorway collapsing as part of the mountain came off.
According to the national disaster management secretariat (SNGR), the total number of people affected by the landslide is around 500.
The Ciborasso governor’s office said it was organizing a food drive to help those affected.
The armed forces participate in rescue operations and distribution of material for the construction of temporary shelters.
For its part, the Red Cross offered “pre-hospital care” to victims.
Residents of nearby communities rushed to Alausi in the early hours of Monday morning to help with rescue operations.
Alausi is known all over the world for the “Devil’s Nose” (La Nariz del Diablo), a steep slope where railway trains pass. This section of the tracks has been labeled “the hardest in the world” by railwaymen, due to its danger.
Since January, rains and landslides have killed 22 people and left 346 homeless across the country. More than 6,900 homes have been damaged and 72 were completely destroyed, according to authorities. 987 such “events” (floods and landslides) have been recorded.
In February, oil production from the field was suspended for five days as a pipeline was at risk of being cut in two by a bridge collapse due to rain.
Source: News Beast
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