MEXICO CITY, July 12 (NNN-XINHUA) — A family of seven, including four minors, died when a landslide buried their home in Central Mexico, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local officials on Thursday.
Heavy rains Wednesday night caused part of a hillside to crumble in Santo Tomas Chautla, a community 15 kilometers from Puebla state’s capital.
According to the capital’s civil protection agency, there was a family gathering at the home, celebrating the children’s elementary school graduation, when the mudslide occurred around 8 pm.
Another two children were rescued and taken to hospital.
Authorities evacuated two other homes at the site, which sits on the side of a hill and beside a narrow river, due to the threat of more rains and landslides.
“The objective is to prevent another tragedy like the one we had last night,” the secretary general of Puebla’s state government, Fernando Manzanilla, said via Twitter after inspecting the disaster site.
The months of June to October mark the rainy season in Mexico.