Several dead in landslide on motorway – DW – 17.06.2024

A landslide flooded a highway in Ecuador on Sunday, killing at least six people and injuring 19 others, authorities said.

The landslide occurred in the central town of Banos de Agua Santa, Ecuador’s Secretariat for Risk Management said. The agency had also reported that 30 other people were missing, but added in the afternoon that they had been found.

What do we know about the landslide?

The city is located about 135 kilometers south of the capital Quito. Mayor Miguel Guevara warned locals to avoid dangerous roads.

Heavy rains caused rivers to overflow their banks and mud and debris to rush down a slope, hitting three cars, two houses and a bus, firefighters said.

“My solidarity goes out to all the families affected,” said Ecuadorian Public Works Minister Roberto Luque on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

He added that authorities were working to resolve the incident and that work at three hydroelectric power plants was affected.

Deputy Fire Chief Captain Angel Barriga told the Associated Press that rescue workers at the scene treated nine people.

Rescue workers said their efforts had been slowed by landslides and rain blocking or washing away several roads.

“The weather conditions are not favorable” for clearing the road, warned the state emergency agency ECU 911.

What were the causes of the heavy rains?

The rainstorm was caused by a low-pressure system in Central and South America, raising the risk of landslides, rockfalls and flooding in several countries.

On Sunday, the waters of the Pisque River flooded an amusement park in Ecuador.

In El Salvador, where two children died in a landslide earlier this week, a red alert was issued due to heavy rainfall. Incoming flights were diverted to neighboring Guatemala, the Ministry of Communications said.

tg/rmt (AP, AFP, Reuters)