A landslide took the lives of two people on the road between Bucaramanga and Barrancabermeja in the northeast Colombian department of Santander Monday.
The commander of the highway police in Santander, Juan Carlos Pinto, reported that one more person is missing and four houses were damaged by the slide that took place at 5:45 AM.
The highway remains blocked at mile marker 39 in the area of La Azufrada, due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region all morning.
Colombia’s mountainous terrain coupled with this year’s harsh rainy season have made landslides a common risk across the country. According to the Ministry of the Interior Risk Management Director Carlos Ivan Marquez, nine Colombian departments are at risk for landslides.