A baby is rescued from Monday's devastating mudslide in Colombia that killed at least 78 people, in what is being hailed as a "miraculous" survival.
An early morning wave of mud, triggered by heavy rainfall, swept over a western Colombia town Monday and killed at least 78 people. Days after the disaster, the magnitude of the tragedy was beginning to sink in for locals.
Among those who were shocked by the widespread damage and loss of life was Hector Raul Henao, who wept as he surveyed the damage to the once-bustling community of coffee farmers. In the distance, across the still-raging La Libordiana ravine, he pointed to the zinc-roofed house he fled — one of just two left standing in an area devastated by a mudslide that killed at least 78 people.
"I lost half my life," he said Tuesday amid tears.
When the earth rumbled before dawn on Monday, his 20-year-old son and 2-month-old granddaughter were asleep at another house directly in the flash flood's path. Both died along with several neighbors, many of whose bodies Henao said were still trapped in the mud.
"I wish I had been the one killed, but God willed it this way," said Henao, who survived along with his wife by forcing open a door against a raging current and fleeing to the jungled mountain rising directly from their home.
Residents were stirred from bed in the dead of the night by a loud rumble and neighbours’ shouts of “The river! The river!” as modestly built homes and bridges plunged into the Libordiana ravine. Survivors barely had enough time to gather their loved ones.
“It was rocks and tree trunks everywhere,” Diego Agudelo said, adding that never in 34 years living next to the ravine had he suspected such a tragedy was possible.
“The river took out everything in its path,” the construction worker said, including the back part of his home.
The disaster hit around 3am local time (8am GMT) in the town of Salgar, about 60 miles (100 km) south-west of Medellin. Dozens of rescuers supported by Black Hawk helicopters evacuated residents near the ravine for fear of another mudslide. A red fire truck could be seen hauling away several bodies, their bare feet dangling from an open trunk.
President Juan Manuel Santos, who travelled to the town to oversee relief efforts, said several children lost their parents and the bodies of those killed needed to be transported to Medellin to be identified. As giant diggers were removing debris he vowed to rebuild the lost homes and provide shelter and assistance for the estimated 500 people affected by the calamity.
