Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Monday declared a "public calamity" in the town of Salgar, in the northwestern province of Antioquia, after the community was devastated by a landslide that, so far, is known to have killed 52 people, injured 37, destroyed 31 homes and left an unknown number of other people missing.
The latest casualty count in the tragedy was provided by the National Risk and Disaster Management Unit, or UNGRD, which said that "there are 52 people dead and 37 injured after the landslide in Liboriana creek."
According to the UNGRD, the injured in the Salgar hospital have already been released and "11 patients were sent to other (medical) centers in nearby towns."
The Colombian leader visited Salgar and met with local and regional authorities to learn the details of the tragedy and announce an aid package for the reconstruction of homes and other emergency support.
"The first thing that was done was to declare a public calamity to be able to have the flexibility to use the resources where they are most needed," Santos told The Rwenzori Times reporters.
He added that also "a full process of searching for missing people" was launched, and although he said that nobody knows how many people are unaccounted for, he added that "there are 166 people looking for them, from different emergency entities."
The president added that, at present, Salgar lacks potable water service because of the damage the landslide caused to the aqueduct, "but there are already some tanker trucks that are operating and more are coming so that water may be distributed in the best way possible, with priority for the hospital."
Santos also said that the state will pay an indemnity for each fatality of 16 million pesos (about $6,580), which will be provided to the families of the dead.
Authorities have said that heavy rains caused Liboriana creek to flood, bringing about a landslide that practically obliterated the village of Las Margaritas.
The tragedy in Las Margaritas is "immeasurable," there are "many, many dead," the Salgar government secretary, Zulma Osorio, told Caracol Radio.
She added that the town's infrastructure had totally collapsed, with gas and water service no longer available, adding that 27 injured people had been admitted to various hospitals in the region.
Osorio said that "the landslide occurred after a heavy rain during the night and early morning hours, when the water swept away everything in its path, homes, bridges, entire families."
Antioquia Gov. Sergio Fajardo was also expected to visit the area, some 97 km (60 mi.) from Medellin, the provincial capital.
Firefighting units have been dispatched to the scene from nearby towns to scour through the ruins of the town for the missing, according to UNGRD, which is coordinating the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, the National Police ordered a group of 40 rescue personnel to the zone, along with two helicopters to transport the injured and those affected in other ways by the tragedy.
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