A landslide of stone and mud from a hill buried dozens of houses in an Andean town in northern Peru on Tuesday, with at least 15 trapped and six missing, although it is feared that the numbers will increase.
“No! God! Everything was covered,” a person who recorded the collapse of the hill is heard saying in a video circulating on social networks.
The governor of La Libertad, Manuel Llempen, said in statements to RPP radio that “according to the preliminary report, the slide of the hill has covered approximately between 60 and 80 houses. They have been completely covered.”
The avalanche occurred around 08:30 local time (1:30 p.m. GMT) in the town of Retamas, at 2,800 meters above sea level, in the district of Parcoy, and according to Rolando Capucho, a person in charge of the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN), At the moment there are 15 people trapped and six missing, including three children.
Capucho did not rule out that with the passing of the hours the numbers of trapped and disappeared will increase.
“It is presumed, based on information given to us by the residents, that there are more people [atrapada y desaparecida]but at COEN we only handle official information,” he told RPP radio.
“We have six missing, including three children and three adults,” Dr. Jorge Luis Escobar, director of risk management at the Ministry of Health, told television channel N.
– “I was able to leave on time” –
The town of Retamas, inhabited by families of miners, is 16 hours by road from the city of Trujillo, the regional capital located on the coast, 500 km north of Lima.
“I was able to get out on time, my house was buried. The collapse left us with nothing,” resident Ledy Leiva, who was able to leave her house with five other members of her family, told RPP radio.
Several trapped people were rescued by neighbors who drilled through the ceilings and walls of the buried houses, local media reported.
“There are many people trapped […] inside the houses,” said Governor Llempen.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced that the government will support the families affected by the landslide.
“I have arranged for the head of Indeci [Defensa Civil] and the defense minister [José Gavidia] go to the area affected by the landslide in the province of Pataz,” the president said on social media.
For his part, Gavidia explained that he will travel to the area together with the Civil Defense rapid response team.
“We will provide all the necessary help to the affected families,” he promised.
In 2009, at least 13 deaths, including a child, left an avalanche that buried several houses in Retamas.
“This place had already been determined as a high-risk area,” warned Miguel Yamazaki, director of Preparation at Indeci.
Avalanches occur with some regularity during the austral summer months in the Andean region of Peru, due to seasonal rains.
