22 people killed, scores missing as landslides destroy Venezuelan town

At least 22 people have been confirmed killed while scores are missing after torrential rains triggered deadly landslides in the central Venezuelan town of Las Tejerias in Aragua State.

According to authorities on Monday, “the landslides caused by flooding from days rain swept through the town in central Venezuela, killing at least 22 people, and left dozens of people missing.”

The government said residents of Las Tejerías in Santos Michelena, an agro-industrial town in Aragua state 87km (54 miles) southwest of the capital, Caracas, had just seconds to reach safety late on Saturday as debris swept down a mountainside onto them.

Read also:15 killed, scores injured in Uganda landslide

“There was a large landslide in the central area of Las Tejerías where five streams overflowed. We have already found 22 dead people; there are more than 52 missing.

“There are still people walled in
We are trying to rescue them, to rescue them alive,” Vice President Delcy Rodríguez told state-owned Venezolana de Televisión from the scene of the disaster.

The town which is located on a mountainside, had most of its houses swept away, including those of a group of evangelicals who were praying when the landslide hit, a rescue worker said to reporters.

Aragua Governor Karina Carpio said the flood waters “terribly affected” 21 sectors in Las Tejerías, the capital of the Santos Michelena municipality, which has some 54,000 inhabitants.

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