Mudslide sweeps over Colombians changing buses on mountain road, at least 20 people missing

At least 20 missing in Colombian mountain mudslide

BOGOTA, Colombia — A mudslide swept over people changing from one bus to another because an earlier slide was blocking a mountain road Monday, and at least 20 people were buried, authorities said.

John Freddy Rendon, director of the regional disaster response office, said the accident happened in northwestern Colombia, on the road between the towns of Giraldo and Canasgordas, 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the capital, Bogota.

He said passengers had gotten off one bus and were crossing the blocked portion of the road to board a second bus that had been sent to pick them up because of the earlier landslide when another mudslide cascaded down the mountain.

The slide also destroyed four or five homes, he said.

“At this point we have between 20 and 30 people missing in the rubble,” Rendon said in a telephone interview.

He said about 100 workers began digging looking for the missing but the effort had to be suspended because of dangers conditions caused by rain and poor visibility. The work would resume early Tuesday, he said.

A strong rainy season in recent weeks has caused flooding and made roads unusable across Colombia, authorities have reported.