Lima, April 03: A massive avalanche of mud and rock has buried a small village in northeastern Peru, killing at least 20 people and leaving 25 others missing, authorities have said.
“As of 12:00 pm (1700 GMT)… the death toll stands at 20 people,” Civil Defence chief of the Huanuco region, Hipolito Cruchaga, told reporters.
He said 50 people were injured in the mudslide, but he was cautious as to the number of people missing, putting it at around 25.
Some reports put the number of missing in the village of Ambo in the hundreds.
“An entire village, some 400 people, has completely vanished,” Jorge Espinoza, a senior official in the Huanuco region, had earlier told N television.
“Some will be saved, but it appears the majority were buried,” he said.
–PTI