The official death
toll from a landslide in Ecuador has risen to 11 as families and rescue groups worked to find dozens of people
still missing after large amounts of earth smothered buildings
and a stadium in the small city of Alausi.
On Tuesday, relatives used speeds to dig through the dirt in places they
believe their loved ones were when the landslide hit in the
Andean province of Chimborazo on Sunday night after heavy rains.
About 67 people were still missing as of Tuesday, according
to Ecuador’s disaster agency, and around 32 survivors had been
rescued.
“We’ve not received help, we’ve been searching since Monday,
we cannot leave our relatives here in the earth,” said a tearful
Sandra Caranqui, 32, on Tuesday.
Following the landslide, which authorities said affected about 163 buildings and 500 people, she and other family members were searching for her missing father and four siblings.
“We no longer have hope that they’re alive,” Caranqui said.
“They’ve been in there for two days.”
Professional rescuers also worked through the night using
digging equipment. Jorge Montanero, chief of the city of
Guayaquil’s fire department rescue group, told journalists the
search would go on.
“While we have even a pinch of hope and faith we will
continue even though exhaustion may be greater,” he said.
READ MORE:
Several dead, dozens missing in Ecuador landslide
Extended rescue operations
President Guillermo Lasso visited the area on Monday night
and offered to extend the rescue operation to find the missing.
With fears that more landslides could be triggered, the
government has ordered some 600 homes be evacuated, with three
shelters set up to care for those affected.
Ecuador’s disaster agency had warned of potential landslide
danger for a 247-hectare area in Alausi in February,
which included part of the zone where Sunday’s landslide hit.
Heavy rains destroyed roads, bridges, and other
infrastructure.
Lasso last week declared an emergency in 14
provinces because of the weather and an earthquake on March 18.
Since the start of the year, heavy rains in Ecuador had caused the deaths of 22 people, destroyed 72 homes and damaged more than 6,900 residences before Sunday’s landslide, according to the SNGR risk management secretariat.
In January 2022, 17 hours of torrential rain caused a dam to collapse, with the resulting flooding killing 28 people in Quito and injuring 52 more.
READ MORE: Deadly Ecuador earthquake causes wide damage
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