Death toll from Colombia landslide climbs to 306

At least 306 people have died and 362 more have been injured by the landslide that hit the Colombian town of Mocoa on Saturday. (Photo by Grundkarte Shadowxfox, Relief Alexrk2 (Own work SRTM3, ETOPO1) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],)

The Minister of Defense and the man in charge of Mocoa’s reconstruction efforts, Luis Carlos Villegas, told the press Thursday that 220 bodies had been handed over to their families after being identified, including 92 children.

“We have 362 injured people, of which 19 are still in hospital. Another 100 have been sent to specialized treatment centers…I have been inspecting the shelters and government food supplies are being delivered there. The population in the shelters is being well-fed,” he added.

The minister also explained that, in recent days, there had been a sharp rise in demands for vaccinations by a great number of people seeking to avoid diseases.

According to instructions from President Juan Manuel Santos, daily supplies for the displaced will continue to arrive until at least April 16th.

The city of Mocoa is crisscrossed by the Mocoa, Mulato and Sancoyaco rivers, all of which burst their limits last Friday due to intense rain.

The landslide hit early Saturday morning, when most of 43,700 people in the town was fast asleep.