Relief agencies continue to dig through rubble and debris on Monday in search of survivors from a landslide in the city of Manizales claiming at least 37 lives.
According to authorities, emergency workers have recovered eight more bodies that were found Sunday in an “advanced state of decomposition,” after Saturday’s deadly landslide.
Sixteen more people have been pulled out alive by the tireless efforts of more than 60 firefighters who worked through Sunday night and into Monday morning under the orders of President Juan Manuel Santos.
In trying to determine a cause for the landslide, National Emergency Director Carlos Ivan Marquez told Caracol Radio, “Technicians from the Manizales Water Company are evaluating what happened and are determining what caused the explosion of a water-feeding tube, which experts say led to the landslide that affected the homes.”
Stressing the importance of following “red alerts,” Santos explained the risks of not listening to authorities in a press release saying, “Tell all the citizens of Colombia that when a red alert is decreed, it is very important, and you have to evacuate. The red alert has been ordered since last week, and we don’t know what happened.”
At least 17 housing units have been destroyed leaving 150 people homeless. More than 40 people are still missing and feared dead.