Image copyright EPA Image caption Whole families were among those buried by the landslide

Rescue workers have found 11 bodies buried in the mud after a landslide hit the Colombian town of Rosas on Sunday.

The number of people killed in the town in south-western Cauca province has risen to 28.

At least two people are still missing but emergency workers say hopes of finding anyone alive are slim.

Landslides are common in Colombia and houses built on steep hillsides are at particular risk during the country's rainy season.

In April 2017, more than 250 people were killed when a landslide hit the town of Mocoa, in Putumayo province.

More people at risk

Rosas Mayor Jesús Eduardo Díaz said he feared other homes in the area could also be in danger after prolonged heavy rains.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The homes were buried deep in the mud

Image copyright EPA Image caption Locals are helping with the search for at least two people who are still missing

Image copyright AFP Image caption Dogs have been deployed in the search but hopes to find anyone alive are waning

Colombian President Iván Duque who visited the area on Monday and said a geological fault line which runs through the town had contributed to the disaster.

The mudslide happened in the early hours of Sunday and buried at least eight homes.

Mayor Díaz said it was known that the homes were at high risk of mudslides and that residents had been warned a year ago to relocate.

He says that because all that had been available to rehome them was a temporary shelter located 35 minutes away, residents decided to stay put.

President Duque said his government would "take all the necessary action to help those affected". The ministry of housing said it would build 56 new homes in the town.

Locals are angry because plans to build 92 new homes after mudslides in the rainy season of 2010/2011 stalled. A contract to build the homes was suspended in August 2018 after the construction firm was found to not be duly fulfilling its work.

Emergency workers will continue searching for the missing and work is also under way to clear mud from the Panamerican Highway, which was partly blocked by the landslide.</s>BOGOTA (Reuters) - At least 14 people have been killed and five injured in a landslide in the southwestern Colombian province of Cauca, the country’s disaster relief agency said on Sunday.

The landslide, which was caused by heavy rains, took place in the early hours of the morning in a rural area of Rosas municipality, the agency said in a statement.

Five people have been hospitalized and rescue operations are ongoing, the statement said. At least eight houses have been damaged and a portion of the Pan-American Highway is blocked because of the landslide, it added.

Landslides are common in mountainous Colombia, especially during rainy season and in areas where precarious informal housing and narrow roadways are constructed on deforested Andean hillsides.</s>BOGOTA: Seventeen people have been killed and five injured in a landslide in the southwestern Colombian province of Cauca, the country’s disaster relief agency said on Sunday.

The landslide, which was caused by heavy rains, occurred early on Sunday in a rural area of Rosas municipality, the agency said in a statement.

On Sunday evening an agency spokesman said the death toll had risen from the initial figure of 14.

Five people were hospitalised and eight houses were destroyed. A portion of the Pan-American Highway was also blocked by the landslide.

President Ivan Duque will visit the area on Sunday evening with the housing and transport ministers to meet with relief officials, his office said in a statement.

Landslides are common in mountainous Colombia, especially during rainy season and in areas where precarious informal housing and narrow roadways are constructed on deforested Andean hillsides.</s>Disaster officials say heavy rains have caused a landslide in southwestern Colombia in which at least 14 people have died.

Colombia's national disaster agency says in a statement that the Easter Sunday landslide in the municipality of Rosas hit at least eight homes and blocked a stretch of the Pan-American Highway.

President Ivan Duque sent a tweet expressing "solidarity with families of victims."</s>At least 10 people were killed in a landslide in southwest Colombia. Authorities said Sunday they were still inquiring if people were missing.

The landslide occurred early Sunday morning in Rosas, a municipality in the Cauca department.

“The landslide occurred in the hamlet of Portachuelo… after part of a mountain broke off and buried around seven houses that were located on one side of the road,” an unidentified rescue worker was quoted as saying by news agency Colprensa.

Local disaster management officials told Caracol Radio that the landslide buried eight homes.

The national army sent personnel from the 3rd Division, which is based in Cali, to the area to help in the rescue efforts.

The landslide blocked the Pan-American Highway, which connects central Colombia to Ecuador. Road infrastructure agency Invias said it had begun clearing the road.

Two people were rescued alive in the first hours of operation, Cauca disaster manager Andres Gomez told Caracol.

Mayor Jesus Eduardo Diaz told Blu Radio that tons of earth, mud and rocks came off the mountain and buried the homes and the highway.

The mayor’s office opened its doors to attend locals who are missing loved ones and determine how many people may be buried under the rubble.

Landslides are common in Colombia during rainy season, particularly in mountainous areas like Cauca.</s>At least 17 people been killed and five others injured by a landslide in southwestern Colombia on Sunday. 

 

 Heavy rains triggered the mudslide in the province of Cauca, the country's disaster relief agency said. 

 

 Search-and-rescue teams continued looking for anyone who may be trapped. 

 

 The slide also blocked the Pan-American Highway, which connects Colombia to Ecuador. 

 

 President Ivan Duque planned to visit the devastated area and meet with relief officials.</s>At least 14 people have been killed and five injured in a landslide in Colombia.

A large part of a mountain broke off in the southwestern Colombian province of Cauca and buried at least eight houses, the country's disaster relief agency announced.

The landslide, which was caused by heavy rain, took place in the early hours of Sunday morning in the rural Rosas municipality.

Five people have been hospitalized and rescue operations are ongoing.

The landslide blocked a portion of the Pan-American Highway, which connects Colombia to Ecuador.

Landslides are common in mountainous Colombia, especially during rainy season and in areas where precarious informal housing and narrow roadways are constructed on deforested Andean hillsides.

The national army was sent in to the area to help with the rescue effort, according to local reports.

The mayor's office opened its doors to provide shelter and a place for people to be reunited with their missing loved ones.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Heavy rains unleashed a landslide in a remote mountain town in southwestern Colombia on Sunday, killing at least 14 people and injuring five more.

The National Disaster Risk Management agency the early morning landslide hit at least eight homes and blocked a stretch of the Pan-American Highway in the community of Rosas, roughly 400 miles (630 kilometers) southwest of Bogota.

Officials said rescue workers were continuing their search for victims, removing earth and debris with heavy machinery.

President Iván Duque sent a tweet expressing "solidarity with families of victims."

Officials said five people were taken to local hospitals for treatment.</s>At least 14 people were killed and five others were injured by a mudslide that buried eight houses on April 21, 2019, in Rosas, Valle del Cauca department, in southwestern Colombia.</s>At least 19 people have died after a landslide on Sunday wiped out several homes in southwestern Colombia following heavy rains that have been falling for days across much of the country.

The downpour caused a hillside in the village of Portachuelo to collapse early on Sunday morning, burying eight houses while the residents were sleeping and completely cutting off the Pan-American Highway, the main roadway in southwestern Colombia which connects the country to neighboring Ecuador.
28 people are killed and two others are missing after a landslide in the municipality of Rosas, in southwestern Colombia.