At least 27 people, including three minors, were killed in the landslide that buried a bus and several other vehicles in northwestern Colombia on Sunday, President Gustavo Petro announced on Monday.

“It is with sadness that I have to announce that so far 27 people, including three minors, have lost their lives in the Pueblo Rico tragedy, in Risaralda,” Petro said on his Twitter account.

Under the effect of heavy rains, a section of mountain fell off and buried several vehicles on the road downstream, including at least one motorcycle and a public transport bus with around thirty people on board.

The previous report of this landslide on a mountain road in the municipality of Pueblo Rico reported three deaths.

A relief official (UNGRD) told AFP that four injured people were recovered, while four others remained trapped under the flow.

"National disaster" because of the rains

The bus came from the city of Cali (southwest) and went to Quibdo (northwest), capital of the department of Choco, crossing the western Andes mountain range.

The images show dozens of rescuers busying themselves, using a digger in particular, to dig up the buried victims, or transporting the lifeless body of a teenager to an ambulance.

The Colombian press was particularly moved by the case of a child, who emerged alive from the wreckage of the bus and withdrawn from the arms of her deceased mother.

According to the testimony of a survivor, the bus driver noticed the collapse and tried, but without success, to reverse.

Since the beginning of August, the country has been in a state of "national disaster" due to the worst rainy season in forty years, according to the government.

According to a previous report, the rains have claimed 271 lives and 700,000 victims over the past year.

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