Colombia landslide toll at 33 as rescuers work against clock

Rescuers were working against the clock Saturday to find survivors of landslides that claimed at least 33 lives, mostly children, in northwestern Colombia, the country's vice president said Saturday.

"I deeply regret the death of 33 people in this tragedy, mostly children, according to preliminary reports," Vice President Francia Marquez wrote on social media site X.

Search teams -- including firefighters, soldiers and local residents -- slogged through deep mud and debris in hopes of finding survivors, while relatives stood nearby, some crying inconsolably, others tearfully hugging.

Rescuers used stretchers to carry out bodies, while a helicopter hovered overhead.

"I don't even know what to think, I'm worried, looking for my relatives," Andres Asprilla told AFP. He said four family members were missing.

Earlier, officials had put the toll in Friday's landslides, which hit a road linking the cities of Medellin and Quibdo in Choco department, at 23 dead and 20 injured.

All available resources were being sent to the area, President Gustavo Petro said on social media Friday.

As of early Saturday, 17 bodies had been transported to morgues and forensic examiners had identified five, authorities said.

The landslides in Choco, which lies on the Pacific Ocean, followed more than 24 hours of intense rain.

A local official told AFP 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, a landslide came and buried them," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Images shared on social networks showed part of a mountain breaking loose and crashing down onto a line of cars, as screams break out.

- 'High risk' -

Rescuers used sniffer dogs to locate those buried, and excavating equipment to gingerly remove the dirt.

"We have been here since three in the morning, and at around six the relief agencies arrived and the search and removal of the bodies began," said Sneider Palacios, who lost a cousin.

It was "very hard," he added.

Clara Estrada reached the scene at 5 am to search for her nephew. "We don't know anything, whether he's alive or dead," she said. The bodies that were carried out, Estrada added, "none of them were him."

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman's Office warned of "high risk of new landslides."

"We call for all necessary actions to be taken in order to safeguard the lives of people who are at risk in the area," it said in a bulletin.

A landslide in the same part of Colombia in December 2022 killed at least 27 people, trapping people in a bus and other vehicles.

While much of Colombia is suffering through drought, meteorologists have warned of the risk of heavy rains in several departments bordering the Pacific.