Colombian leader urges hillside evacuation
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia's President is asking nearly 500 people to abandon homes on the vulnerable hillside of a poor Medellin suburb where a landslide killed dozens as it buried about 30 homes.
The bodies of 30 victims - at least a third of them children - have been recovered from Sunday's disaster. Authorities say about 90 people remain missing.
President Juan Manuel Santos visited the stricken suburb of Bello on Tuesday and told reporters the landslide was a tragedy waiting to happen.
He said people need to stop building on such high-risk hillsides.
Santos promised to build 1,000 homes for at-risk families in Bello, where officials say some 90 homes are in danger.
Sunday's landslide follows Colombia's heaviest rains in 42 years.
(COPYRIGHT 2010 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
You must be logged in to post comments.
Gray Television, Inc. - Copyright © 2002-2013
Designed by Gray Digital Media