Landslide death toll in Alausí, Ecuador rises to 23

The Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office reported this Friday that the number of deaths from the landslide that occurred last Sunday evening in the city of Alausí, in the province of Chimborazo, has risen to 23.

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According to the entity, the removal of two deceased people found among the rubble left behind by the collapse of a building has been arranged and it also informs that their bodies will be handed over to next of kin after they have been identified.

Likewise, there have been 656 victims so far, 500 affected, 37 injured and 32 people have been rescued.

Quito and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas firefighters, in coordination with the Minister for Risk Management, are working to evacuate earth and debris, organize and distribute personnel and heavy machinery to search for possible victims as 67 are still reported missing become.

Among the measures, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works declared the road network of the Andean province of Chimborazo an emergency to speed up repairs and restore Alausí’s road connection with other areas.

For its part, the Risk Management Secretariat declared the state of yellow alert that day in La Cría, in the canton of Santa Isabel in Azuay, due to a landslide in this region, in order to take urgent measures “in the vulnerable polygon” to mass movements, which corresponds to the area of ​​526.22 hectares, which includes the municipality of La Cría”.

On Sunday evening, the avalanche collapsed over the casual sector in the Nuevo Alausí district, covering an area of ​​24.3 hectares, including the municipal football stadium.