With the passing of the daysThe chances of finding survivors are running out, but the rescuers continue to work tirelessly in the search for 67 missing after the avalanche on Sunday in Alausí, in the province of Chimborazo, some 300 km south of Quito.
A gigantic piece of the mountain broke off and fell on the town of about 45,000 inhabitants. The landslide also leaves 33 injured and 163 houses affected, according to the most recent balance issued by the National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR).
In February the area where the collapse occurred was declared in “yellow alert” for heavy rains that hit Ecuador since January. In addition, the authorities had warned about the collapse of a nearby road.
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Day and night families of trapped people and rescuers continue to dig. From time to time clothes, photographs and personal belongings appear.
The government arranged three shelters and ordered the evacuation of 600 homes near the area of the collapse, covering an area of 24.3 hectares.
President Guillermo Lasso has assured that the rescue efforts will continue “as long as necessary.”
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before the landslide, Ecuador already reported 22 deaths and more than 6,900 homes affected due to heavy rainfall.
The storm forced the government to declare a state of emergency last week in 13 of the 24 provinces, in order to mobilize economic resources to attend to the victims of floods and landslides.
The entrance The death toll from a landslide in southern Ecuador rises to 14 was first published on newspaper TODAY.