(Rio Verde) Rescue teams and some residents searched through mud Monday looking for more victims of a landslide in central Ecuador that killed at least eight people.
Heavy rains over the weekend flooded several provinces in Ecuador, but the community of Baños was one of the worst hit when a hillside partially collapsed on Sunday and swept away homes and vehicles.
Ecuador’s risk management office said in a press release that in addition to the eight confirmed deaths, 11 other people were missing and 22 others were injured.
Baños, located about 135 kilometers south of the capital Quito, is known among tourists as a starting point for adventures in the Amazon jungle.
Search teams and some residents removed the debris by hand, but heavy machinery was also used.
The initial death toll on Sunday was six, but authorities reported Monday that two more bodies had been found.
As searchers worked through the mud, some residents sought to salvage furniture from damaged homes.
Across Ecuador, the storms caused additional landslides and flooding in at least 13 provinces, destroying some bridges and highways, cutting off the main route connecting Ecuador’s highlands to the Amazon provinces.
Two other people died in two different provinces due to the rains, the risk management office said.