Colombia Mudslides Kill 5, Including 3 Children in Rural Elementary School

Colombia, which has been facing heavy rains in the past few days, has been suffering from a series of mudslides. One of these mudslides swept over a school south of Medellin on Thursday. It killed three young children.

ABC News reported that the incident happened in Antioquia province, where the city of Medellin is. The school which the mudslide swept over was the La Lejia School, located in the town of Andes, Antioquia, just a three-hour drive from Medellin.

According to authorities in the province, 20 children were having a recess in the elementary school cafeteria when the mudslide hit. Rescue workers then labored to rescue the children who were trapped under the school.

The Associated Press reported that three children have died, all under the age of six. Two other children who have been rescued are now being treated at a hospital.

Antioquia's secretary for territorial development, Juan Pablo Lopez, said that water caused by the heavy rains saturated the soil in the mountain area. The mud then broke loose near the top of the mountain before going down into the town of Andes.

The heavy rains caused another landslide in the country last Thursday, and this one happened on the outskirts of Medellin, killing two other people, according to authorities.

Colombia Mudslides in the Past

Colombia suffered an even deadlier landslide earlier this year. It happened last February in the Dosquebradas municipality in Risaralda province.

Like the ones which happened in Antioquia, it was also caused by heavy rainfall. The landslide swept over and buried at least five homes.

Fourteen people died, and another 35 were injured and rushed to the hospital after the landslide engulfed their homes. Colombia's disaster management officials quickly jumped to action, with other residents in the area helping recover bodies and rescue other survivors.

They also evacuated the people living near the swelling rivers as well. More than 60 homes near the area of the landslide were evacuated following the tragedy, due to fears that the rains would cause more flooding and landslides, according to CBC.

Deadly Landslides in Colombia

According to BBC, Colombia has been plagued by deadly landslides. Colombians often build houses on or near steep hillsides, and these are particularly at risk during the rainy season.

When the rains arrive and loosen the soil, it causes mudslides, which in turn cause severe damage to property and loss of human life.

A deadly landslide occurred in 2019, where 28 people were killed. It happened in Colombia's southwestern Cauca province. However, one of the deadliest happened just two years earlier, in the town of Mocoa, in the southern Putumayo province, where 250 people died when a landslide hit the area.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Colombia Landslide: More Mudslides and Flooding Feared - From Al Jazeera News