Colombia landslide kills villagers on Easter Sunday

At least 17 people have died in Colombia following a landslide triggered by heavy rains.

The early morning landslide hit at least eight homes on Easter Sunday and blocked a stretch of the Pan-American Highway in the community of Rosas, roughly 630 kilometres southwest of Bogota.

A stretch of the Pan-American Highway that links Ecuador’s capital Quito to the Colombian city of Cali has been closed.

At least 25 other people were still buried in the mud and debris, local media reports said. Military forces were deployed to affected areas to help in the recovery efforts.

Colombian President Ivan Duque said on Twitter that emergency services were working to free the road in order to allow humanitarian aid to the affected area.

“Our solidarity to the families of the victims,” Duque wrote.