Authorities in Colombia’s north-western Antioquia department said there is no hope that rescue workers will find any survivors of the landslide that buried an estimated 30 people under 3.5 million cubic feet of earth on Monday.
Governor’s Office spokesman Jorge Humberto Moreno Salazar told newspaper El Espectador that “there is no hope. There are tons of rocks on these people.”
“Many hours have passed. This is no possibility of finding anyone alive,” Moreno added.
According to the government official, some 200 rescue workers were transferred to the town of Giraldo, three hours north-west of Medellin, and are being assisted by specially trained dogs.
Moreno said that rescue efforts are difficult and dangerous, because their is a threat of further landslides.
“The terrain is very unstable at the top of the landslide. At the left side are cracks a meter wide and if it continues to rain the water could enter, cause pressure and create a new landslide,” the official said.