Ecuador Landslide Death Toll Rises to 27
© AP Photo / Dolores OchoaRescue workers comfort a woman whose daughter is missing in Alausi, Ecuador, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, the day after a landslide swept through the town burying dozens of homes.
© AP Photo / Dolores Ochoa
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MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - The death toll from a landslide in central Ecuador has risen to 27, after four more bodies were recovered from the rubble, Ecuador's Attorney General's Office (FGE) informs.
On Friday, Ecuador's National Secretariat for Risk Management said that at least 17 people were killed and 37 others were injured in a massive landslide that hit the city of Alausi in the province of Chimborazo on March 26. FGE said that the death toll stood at 23.
"[There are] 27 confirmed deaths after the landslide that occurred in Alausi. The prosecutor's office ordered the removal of two more bodies, found recently among the rubble. Once identified, they will be handed over to their relatives," FGE said on Twitter on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the attorney general’s office reported on another two victims.
Aerial footage shows the devastation caused by a deadly landslide in Ecuador where rescuers continue to search for dozens of people reported missing ⤵️
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 28, 2023
🔗: https://t.co/7OMydkOGbd pic.twitter.com/m4FGcVa5N7
According to Ecuador’s National Secretariat for Risk Management, over 70 people are missing and a total of 500 local residents have been affected by the landslide. Nearly 60 houses have been completely destroyed while over 160 were damaged.
More than 30 people have been rescued from the rubble.