Death toll of Colombian mudslide up to at least 17; rescue goes on

Описание: Flooding and mudslides on April 19 in central Colombia have killed at least 17 people.
This is the second deadly landslide in the country this month.

(Sound Bite, Spanish) Jaime Andres Gomez, Victim
"The downpour began around 10 o'clock at night. It was mild, but later got stronger."

Rescue work has been carried out widely, after torrential rains lashed the city of Manizales, the capital of Caldas department, a remote and difficult region to access.

(Sound Bite, Spanish) Diana Milena Suarez, Victim
"We were sleeping when we felt the alarm of the neighborhood, and then when we got up. The water had already come up here, and everyone was running. All of us did the same thing.”

President Juan Manuel Santos has admitted this was "a product of climate change" and the environment should be taken care of to “avoid such catastrophes.”

(Sound Bite, Spanish) Wilmar Ramirez Morales, Local Government official
"Today we are collaborating to transfer some people from the neighborhood Persia who are at risk. We try to collaborate in one way or another to move these people to safer places."

Earlier this month, in the southern city of Mocoa, over 320 people including more than 100 children were killed, when heavy rain caused three mountain rivers to overflow and triggered off rampant landslide.