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Colombia mudslide deaths reach 29

Twenty-nine bodies have been recovered in Colombia after several villages were swept away by mudslides last week.
Officials in the south west say eight people, among them four soldiers, are still missing. About 1,000 people have seen their homes destroyed or damaged.

There was some good news on Sunday, as 19 people feared dead emerged unhurt after taking refuge in the hills.

Three of the 15 spots hit by mudslides in the area of Buenaventura may be declared cemeteries, officials say.

Clashes

The heavy rains started on Tuesday night and led to several rivers bursting their banks early on Wednesday.

Several villages were swept away by rivers of mud, as were parts of the main road to the Pacific coast about 350km (220 miles) south-west of the capital, Bogota.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the lack of access to the area, heavy rains, new mudslides and attacks by some of Colombia's armed factions.

The authorities said emergency workers had come under repeated attack by rebel fighters, said to be from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

Thousands of people have been left homeless by floods and mudslides in this year's wet season, which has also seen thousands of hectares of crops destroyed.

The rainy season began in March and is forecast to continue

By (Deleted user) on Apr 17, 2006, 07:49 in Friendly Talkzone.

Miguel says on Apr 17, 2006, 11:02:

Yo zagarise Good to see you back.

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gorgonabob says on Apr 18, 2006, 16:25:

i was just there flew into cali last week and being unable to get a bus to buenaventura....because of the slides a friend and i decided to walk it.... six hours we walked/ trekked over landslides and ruined houses. pretty sombering stuff... we did the trek only a day after the landslides....i've got a lot of photos of the devestation i will put up later...we arrived the other side of the slips thursday afternoon and word got to us as we waited in a tienda that there was a little conflict going on further down the road..... there were loads of military along the road... we got picked up by a truck and a military convoy drove us the remainder 30kms to buenaventura... we left Cali at 5am in the morning and arrived in Buenaventura at 2pm.. .a hell of a trip...after that well we picked up a cargo boat for a 25 hour ride north to spectacular Bahia Solano... More to come later... kelvin

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