Search and rescue underway in Colombia following deadly floods

World Today

In this handout photo released by the Colombian National Army, soldiers and rescue workers evacuate residents from the area in Mocoa, Colombia, Saturday, April 1, 2017. (Colombian Army Photo via AP)

Search-and-rescue operations are under way in Colombia following mammoth landslides. Over 250 are dead and hundreds are still missing in the southern village of Mocoa. The government has declared a state-of-calamity and hundreds of relief workers have been flown to the area.

CGTN’s Michelle Begue filed this report.

The images coming out of Colombia’s Putumayo region are devastating.

It happened in Mocoa, just after midnight early Saturday morning. An avalanche of water triggered when three rivers overflowed causing a massive mudslide as residents slept. Entire families were wiped out.


PHOTOS: Deadly flooding in Colombia

Many people are still missing, buried under debris. Survivors described the horror. Some say rocks, the size of houses, fell on them.

“I lost everything, I was able to get the two children out of the house, but we lost everything else. It is all rocks and sand,” one woman said.

As rescue operations continue, an exact death toll is still hard to confirm. The government has sent more than a thousand soldiers and police to assist in the rescue operation.

Families are trying to find their loved ones. Food, tents, and clothing are being flown in to help those who survived cope with one of the country’s worst natural disasters.