Mudslide kills at least 60 in Colombian village
( 2002-11-01 10:55 ) (7 )

At least 60 people were killed when a mudslide, triggered by heavy rains, swept through a village in northern Colombia, a hospital doctor said on Thursday.

The accident happened on Tuesday in the village of Montecristo, in Bolivar Province, some 400 km north of the capital Bogota, after two hills collapsed, Montecristo Mayor Carmen Duarte Rodriguez told local radio.

"Two hills collapsed and blocked a mountain stream. The water began accumulating until it crashed. When it came down it swept the village," said Pablo Rodriguez, director of the hospital in Montecristo.

He said a humanitarian mission that reached the scene of the accident reported 60 people killed.

Earlier, the mayor said the mudslide killed one woman and three children and that at least 30 other people were missing.

Heavy rains were preventing emergency officials from arriving at Montecristo.

Bolivar is an area under fierce territorial dispute by leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary outlaws fighting in the country's 38-year old war.