- Title: Ecuador landslide kills at least 7 in the Andes, 23 hurt
- Date: 27th March 2023
- Summary: ALAUSI, CHIMBORAZO, ECUADOR (MARCH 27, 2023) (REUTERS) PEOPLE RUNNING IN PANIC OVER FEARS OF A NEW LANDSLIDE VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS, POLICE, AND ARMY CARRYING OUT RESCUE LABORS VARIOUS OF RESCUE DOGS SEARCHING FOR LANDSLIDE VICTIMS RELATIVE OF MISSING PEOPLE, LUIS ANGEL GONZALEZ (YELLOW CAP), LOOKING AT LANDSLIDE AFTERMATH (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL AND RELATIVE OF PEOPLE WHO WENT MISSING DURING LANDSLIDE, LUIS ANGEL GONZALEZ, SAYING: "We are suffering, we are hurt, we have nothing else to do, we were left without a home, with nothing. We are broken. I don’t know what to do. Whenever I went out to the cockfights, I returned to sleep in this house, and now I have nowhere to come to." GONZALEZ LOOKING AT LANDSLIDE AFTERMATH (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MAYOR OF ALAUSI, RODRIGO REA, SAYING: "The number of affected homes, statistically, is around one hundred and sixty-three. We want to thank the rescue team that was evacuating yesterday, they spent the whole day evacuating people with the objective of protecting each and every one of the lives of the people who lived in that place. However, there were people who spent the night there thinking that this misfortune would not happen to us, and they are the ones that were affected." FIREFIGHTERS REMOVING RUBBLE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL AND RELATIVE OF PERSON WHO WENT MISSING DURING LANDSLIDE, ABELARDO GUACHO, SAYING: "So, others got out, but an 18-year-old is missing, so they are searching for him, hopefully, they will find him." VARIOUS OF RESCUE TEAMS AT THE SCENE VARIOUS OF RESCUED DOG RESCUE DOG AND HANDLER AT DISASTER ZONE PEOPLE TAKING OUT BELONGINGS FROM AFFECTED HOMES VARIOUS OF LANDSLIDE DESTRUCTION VARIOUS OF PEOPLE EVACUATING THE AREA VARIOUS OF LANDSLIDE ZONE PEOPLE LOOKING AT LANDSLIDE AFTERMATH LANDSLIDE ZONE HALF-BURIED HOUSE VARIOUS OF RELATIVES OF MISSING PEOPLE IN THE AREA HALF-BURIED HOME RESCUE TEAMS AT WORK
- Embargoed: 10th April 2023 23:41
- Keywords: Alausi Andes Chimborazo Ecuador climate change disaster landslide weather
- Location: ALAUSI, CHIMBORAZO, ECUADOR
- City: ALAUSI, CHIMBORAZO, ECUADOR
- Country: Ecuador
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,South America / Central America
- Reuters ID: LVA001074227032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A landslide triggered by heavy rains in Ecuador's Andean region killed at least seven people, with 23 people hurt and almost 50 missing, the country's risk agency said on Monday (March 27) in a revised report on Twitter.
Earlier, the agency reported that 16 people had died as a result of the landslide in the city of Alausi, in Ecuador's Chimborazo province. It did not explain the reasons for the revision but it did say that 32 people were rescued after a large amount of earth swept down on parts of the city of Alausi on Sunday (March 26) night.
Its statement on Twitter hiked the number of missing to 46, from seven in its previous report. In all, 500 people and 163 houses were affected, the agency said.
A local resident and relative of people who went missing during the landslide, Luis Angel Gonzalez, held back the tears while saying he lost everything he had. "We are suffering, we are hurt, we have nothing else to do," he said.
Rescue workers searched for survivors in the rubble, aided by dogs. In some areas, most houses were completely buried by earth, according to a Reuters witness.
According to the mayor of Alausi, Rodrigo Rea, most of the people affected were people that stayed the night despite previous efforts to evacuate them earlier.
Heavy rains have destroyed roads, bridges, and other infrastructure across Ecuador.
President Guillermo Lasso earlier this month declared a state of emergency in the 14 provinces worst affected by the severe weather and a strong earthquake.
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