Americas News
One dead, 12 missing in mudslide in Colombia
May 18, 2011, 16:59 GMT
Bogota - One child died and 12 people went missing Wednesday in an avalanche of mud and rocks that buried several houses in the north-eastern Colombian town of San Vicente de Chucuri.
A local fire department spokesman said the dead boy was seven. Seven people were rescued, while rescue teams continued the search for the 12 people who were reported missing.
A portion of the mountain side broke off over the houses as a result of heavy rain affecting Colombia. The country's Interior Ministry said around 7,000 people had been evacuated from their homes due to the risk of mudslides in recent weeks.
Colombia has two rainy seasons, from April to June and from October to December. However, the current presence of the climatic phenomenon known as La Nina, with cold currents over the Pacific ocean, virtually made the dry seasons disappear over the past year.
According to Colombian authorities, the rain has claimed about 550 lives and damaged the property of 3.3 million people in the South American country since April 2010.
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