13 killed as landslide hits a bus in Colombia’s Narino

At least 13 people were killed after a landslide swept away a small bus into a ravine in an area called Devil's Nose in Narino department, southeast Colombia on Saturday, January 20, 2018. Search and rescue operations didn't start until Sunday as locals initially reported no missing persons.

The landslide happened on Tumaco-Pasto highway, some 66 km (41 miles) from Pasto after heavy rain hit the region. Rescuers said late Sunday they have recovered 13 bodies and will continue search operations on Monday to see if other vehicles in the area were affected.

Officials estimated some 5 000 cubic meters (175 000 ft³) of soil came loose and said that there could be more victims as the 16-seat bus picked up more passengers en route to Pasto.

As reported by Colombia Reports, road infrastructure in Narino is notoriously bad, particularly in the mountainous east of the province where landslides are common during rainy season.

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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