Landslide after heavy rain in southwest Colombia kills 4 and leaves 400 families homeless (UPDATE)

The Indian Express
Sun, 09 Mar 2025 10:57 UTC

An avalanche caused by heavy rains affected the road that connects Pasto with the town of El Encano, in the sector known as La Vaca Lola.

Heavy rains unleashed a landslide in southwest Colombia, killing at least one person, officials said Saturday. Three other people were missing.

The victim was dragged away in his vehicle by Friday's landslide, according to Nicolás Toro, mayor of the town of Pasto, who spoke with El Contraste Noticias, a local news site.

Before the body was found on Saturday, the National Risk Management Unit had said that four people were missing and 38 others were rescued. It noted that the landslide affected more than 200 people overall and damaged 65 homes.

Heavy machinery worked to reopen the affected roads and restore water service, which was suspended in a popular tourist area near La Cocha lagoon.

AP

Comment: Update March 11

Azertag.az reports:

Four people were killed and about 100 families were left homeless due to a landslide in southern Colombia's Narino department, according to Xinhua.

"The rains have left emergencies in several cities, but the most devastating occurred in (the community of) El Encano, in the city of Pasto, where a landslide claimed the lives of four people and left serious damage," Luis Alfonso Escobar, governor of Narino said on social media platform X.

The landslide impacted more than 400 families, making several roads impassable and causing the collapse of three aqueducts.

Authorities were working on clearing roads of debris and supplying drinking water with tanker trucks, said the governor.

In the city of La Cruz, 100 families were also affected by flooding and three pedestrian bridges were swept away.

Some "24 cities have requested machinery to clear roads and deal with landslides," said Escobar.