BOGOTA, July 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A mudslide smashed into a rural elementary school in the mountains south of Medellin on Thursday, killing three young children after heavy rains washed over Colombia’s north and west, authorities said.
Officials in Antioquia province said about 20 children, along with a teacher and the mother of one of the students, were at recess in the cafeteria of La Lejia school when the slide hit.
Most of them escaped unharmed, but three aged under six died and two youngsters who had to be dug out of the building were hospitalised. They are in a stable condition.
Juan Pablo Lopez, Antioquia’s secretary for territorial development, said water-saturated soil broke loose near the top of the mountain on which the school stands in an area near the town of Andes, which is about a three-hour drive from Medellin.
Dozens of villagers helped rescuers from the military in an effort to save the children.
Video footage shared on social media showed dozens of people with shovels trying to remove a heap of felled trees and rubble. Two digging machines were also deployed.
Eliana Rincones, the school’s only teacher, told journalists there were 22 children present at the time of the landslide.
“We were at recess when suddenly we heard something very loud; we all turned (to look) and in a matter of seconds we all ran,” she said.
“We didn’t even know where we were running.”
The landslide was the result of heavy rains plaguing much of Colombia due to the cyclical La Nina weather phenomenon.
The rains are projected to continue until September, according to the meteorological institute.
Another landslide on the outskirts of Medellin killed two people Thursday, authorities said. — NNN-AGENCIES
