“A landslide hit the Porvenir (village) school. The first information is about eight children trapped,” said Daniel Quintero, the mayor of Medellin, the capital of Antioquia province, where the landslide occurred, via Twitter.
Eight children are missing, trapped after a landslide hit the site of a rural community school in northwestern Colombia, authorities said Thursday.
“A landslide hit the Porvenir (village) school. The first information is about eight children trapped,” said Daniel Quintero, the mayor of Medellin, the capital of Antioquia province, where the landslide occurred, via Twitter.
According to the newspaper El Tiempo, the three children were found dead.
Videos uploaded to social media sites show dozens of villagers on a hill as they struggle to clear uprooted trees and debris.
Speaking to local media, Eliana Rincones, the village teacher, said that 22 children were at school when the tragedy unfolded.
“We were taking a break when suddenly we heard something very loud, we turned (to look) and in a few seconds we had all started running (…) we didn’t even know where we were running, we were just running,” he recounted.
The landslide followed heavy rains in much of Colombia due to the La Niña weather phenomenon. According to forecasters, the heavy rains are expected to continue until September.
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