Venezuela landslide kills at least 39 people, over 50 missing
A giant landslide in Venezuela’s western Andean country has killed at least 39 people, with dozens remaining missing, officials and rescuers say.
The massive movement of sediment into deep veins of the Andean Mountains, triggered by the torrential rain, triggered a series of landslides in many locales, from the capital Caracas to the eastern plains bordering Peru, an expert from the Red Cross told RT.
“The main one was on Sunday. I think that’s the worst one. It fell on the area of Chaguaramas on the border of Peru and Venezuela,” said José Almeida, who’s with the Red Cross organization.
There was also a landslide at the San Felipe and Tuyucanani, which is just a few kilometres from El Parecido International airport.
However, Almeida said the most serious one happened at Santa María to the north of the capital, which was reported as being buried by some 15 meters. “I was in El Parecido (airport) when I saw the slide on the television. It was difficult to estimate the damage because most of the victims were at the bottom and had been swept there,” Almeida said.
Venezuelan authorities deployed rescue teams and air-rescue planes, with helicopters, in a bid to rescue survivors, Reuters reports. The Red Cross said that it had helped 44,000 people last year.
Some 1,400 people were stranded in the Carretera Bolivar in the early hours of Monday morning after a flash flood triggered by the disaster engulfed their camp.
One of the survivors, Jose Marti, tells RT he has been left with nine people, who “fear for their lives” after the flood devastated their camp. “I am very worried how long the waters are still rising,” Marti says. He adds that the tents