Ninety-two children among 301 killed in Colombia landslide: govt
Hardest-hit by the tragedy are impoverished neighborhoods populated with residents uprooted during Colombia’s five-decade civil war.
Handout picture released by the Colombian Army press office showing soldiers carrying a corpse following mudslides caused by heavy rains, in Mocoa, Putumayo department, on April 1, 2017. Mudslides in southern Colombia -caused by the rise of the Mocoa River and three tributaries- have claimed at least 16 lives and injured some 65 people following recent torrential rains, the authorities said. / AFP PHOTO / EJERCITO DE COLOMBIA / HO /
There were 92 children among the 301 people killed in the giant mudslide that slammed the southern Colombian town of Mocoa last week, the government said Thursday.
The landslide hit late Friday after heavy rains caused three rivers to flood, strewing earth, rocks and trees over the area. The death toll of children was made public by the country’s Disasters Risk Management office.
Officials have turned over 218 bodies to grieving relatives, the office said, adding that at least 3,240 people were left homeless and in need of humanitarian aid. While the official death toll stands at 301, President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday said 314 people are unaccounted for.
Mocoa, the capital of the department of Putumayo, was home to 70,000 people, about 45,000 of whom were affected by the disaster, according to the Red Cross.
Hardest-hit by the tragedy are impoverished neighborhoods populated with residents uprooted during Colombia’s five-decade civil war.
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