Quito — A landslide in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, has killed at least 24 people and left 12 missing, Mayor Santiago Gardenas said Tuesday.
Heavy rains on Monday night flooded the canyons near the working class La Gaska and La Comuna, causing mud and rocks to fall on the homes and impacting power supply.
The national disaster management agency said 48 people were injured.
“We saw this huge black river being dragged along all, we had to climb a wall to escape,” said her two young daughters in their home. Said the resident Albako Takachi, who was evacuated from. “We are looking for someone who has disappeared.”
The footage obtained by Reuters showed a man struggling to free himself from the muddy water that ran through a residential area. Reuters witnesses said the man was swept away as the inhabitants shouted for help.
In other videos, rapids wiped out trees, cars, dumplings, and even utility poles, and some people were rescued from muddy water by their neighbors.
Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of further landslides. The mayor’s office has set up shelters for affected families and has begun cleaning up roads in the city.
Ecuador is facing heavy rains in some areas, flooding rivers and affecting hundreds of homes and roads.
The rain in Kito on Monday was equivalent to 75 liters per square meter, the highest in nearly 20 years.
Alexandra Valencia
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