17 bodies recovered in Colombia landslide

17 bodies recovered in Colombia landslide

2010-12-07 01:41:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

NORTHFIELD, ILLINOIS (BNO NEW) — Rescue teams in Colombia have recovered 17 bodies of the 145 buried in the devastating landslide in the northwestern region of Colombia, officials said Monday.

Emergency management director for Antioquia state John Freddy Rendon and state governor Luis Alfredo Ramos confirmed the number of recovered bodies, adding that a baby had been found alive. However, the baby died shortly after being transported to a local clinic.

On Sunday, at around 4 p.m. local time, around 50,000 square meters of land buried La Gabriela neighborhood in Bello, which is slightly north of Medellin, Colombia.

The affected area is located on the slopes of a mountain on a highway that connects Bogota and Medellin. Around 15 families were evacuated and taken to temporary camps, while several other residents have moved to friends' and family members' houses.

As Colombia has been facing the heaviest rainfall in 40 years, at least 176 have died in the South American country due to heavy rains and landslides so far this year.

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