Rescue teams on Sunday found the 36th victim of the landslides that hit northwestern Colombia on Friday, while another seven people are still considered missing, according to the latest report from the authorities.

The previous official count was 33 dead and 10 missing.

Another twenty people were injured as a result of landslides that crushed a road connecting Medellin, Colombia’s second largest city, to Quibdo.

“During the last hours, three more bodies were found. Two were identified by relatives, the third has yet to be identified,” the office of the governor of Choko prefecture said in a press release.

“The majority” of the people lost in this disaster in the municipality of Carmen de Atrato were children of the indigenous community, Vice President Franca Marquez said via X (the former Twitter).

“To all the families of the victims, my condolences (…) We hope to find” the missing and “we hope they are not dead,” said President Gustavos Petros.

Footage uploaded to social networking sites and broadcast by television networks shows the moment a mountain collapses and crushes vehicles, while screams can be heard.

A local official said that “many” managed to get out of cars and found shelter “in a house” near the community of Carmen de Atrato. “But, unfortunately, another landslide happened and buried them,” he added.

The prefecture of Choco, which is washed by the Pacific Ocean and has a vast rainforest, has experienced heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours.

More than 200 people, firefighters, search and rescue personnel, military personnel and residents are involved in the search.

Clara Estrada said the day before Saturday that she was anxiously waiting for news about her nephew: “we don’t know” what happened, if he is “alive or dead”.

Pope Francis prayed “for the victims of the landslide in Colombia” in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

President Petros promised to provide “all” possible assistance to Choko prefecture after “this horrible tragedy”.

While Colombia is experiencing a drought, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) has issued an emergency warning bulletin for threatened strong storms in areas of the country that are wetted by the Pacific or crossed by the Amazon.