Fredy Builes/AFP/Getty Images
A member of the rescue team searches for people trapped in the area of a landslide on the road between Quibdo and Medellin in the Choco department of Colombia on January 13, 2024.
CNN –
Landslides in Colombia's northwestern Chocó department have killed at least 34 people, the governor's office said in a statement on Saturday.
So far, 17 bodies have been transferred to Medellín for forensic examination, and another 17 are expected to be transported as well, the statement said.
“We are experiencing a very sad weekend for Chocó,” said Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba Curi. “Our people feel the pain of the victims. I will not rest until I ensure that all Chocoans have information about their relatives.”
The landslides occurred on a road between the cities of Quibdó and Medellín, Colombia's Vice President Francia Marquez said on X on Friday, after the area was subjected to 24 hours of heavy rain.
Images on social media showed the moment a large piece of land broke away from a mountain and fell onto several cars driving along the flooded road below, Portal reported.
Fredy Builes/AFP/Getty Images
A member of the rescue team stands in the area of a landslide on the road between Quibdo and Medellin, Choco department, Colombia, on January 13, 2024.
Fredy Builes/AFP/Getty Images
People observe the area where a landslide occurred on the road between Quibdo and Medellin, in the Choco department of Colombia, on January 13, 2024.
The Colombian National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, the Colombian Civil Defense, the National Army, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Choco police were mobilized to respond to the incident, Marquez also said.
Colombia has been hit by deadly mudslides before. In 2017, hundreds of people died in a remote southern part of the country after torrential rains sent a flood of mud through the town of Mocoa.