At least 33 people were killed in a landslide in an Indigenous community in northwestern Colombia, the country's vice president said Saturday.
Rescuers slogging through deep mud were rushing against the clock in hopes of finding survivors in the rubble.
Earlier, officials had put the toll in Friday's landslide, which hit a road linking the cities of Medellin and Quibdo in Choco department, at 23 dead and 20 injured.
Authorities in Medellin said that, as of early Saturday, 17 bodies had been transported there and that forensic examiners had identified three of them. No names were released. Rescuers struggle to reach site.
With several road closures, rescue crews and firefighters struggled to reach the hardest-hit area, and one official told there had been a request for helicopters to help.
"Since last night, we have been working hand-in-hand with emergency and relief organizations on the Quibdo-Medellin road," the police said. "We deployed all our capabilities to rescue and help those affected."
About 50 soldiers also arrived to assist, and images released by the army showed mud-covered men struggling through swampy terrain.
The landslide in Choco, which lies on the Pacific Ocean and is home to a vast tropical forest, followed more than 24 hours of intense rain.
A local official told that many travelers, blocked by an earlier landslide Friday, had left their cars to take shelter in a house near the municipality of Carmen de Atrato.
"But unfortunately, an avalanche came and buried them," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Rescuers slogging through deep mud were rushing against the clock in hopes of finding survivors in the rubble.
Earlier, officials had put the toll in Friday's landslide, which hit a road linking the cities of Medellin and Quibdo in Choco department, at 23 dead and 20 injured.
Authorities in Medellin said that, as of early Saturday, 17 bodies had been transported there and that forensic examiners had identified three of them. No names were released. Rescuers struggle to reach site.
With several road closures, rescue crews and firefighters struggled to reach the hardest-hit area, and one official told there had been a request for helicopters to help.
"Since last night, we have been working hand-in-hand with emergency and relief organizations on the Quibdo-Medellin road," the police said. "We deployed all our capabilities to rescue and help those affected."
About 50 soldiers also arrived to assist, and images released by the army showed mud-covered men struggling through swampy terrain.
The landslide in Choco, which lies on the Pacific Ocean and is home to a vast tropical forest, followed more than 24 hours of intense rain.
A local official told that many travelers, blocked by an earlier landslide Friday, had left their cars to take shelter in a house near the municipality of Carmen de Atrato.
"But unfortunately, an avalanche came and buried them," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
