For the fifth day in a row, rescue work continues there, after last Sunday’s avalanche, although hopes of finding a surviving person under the tons of earth and rubble are fading.
However, according to official data, 67 are missing, which is why rescuers, firefighters and the army are still in the ground zero, despite the risk of new landslides due to the continuing rains and the presence of cracks in the upper part of the area. rocks and mountains.
The massive avalanche destroyed much of the municipality’s infrastructure, including 57 homes completely collapsed and another 163 with minor damage.
The day before, the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works had declared a state of emergency on the road network in Chimborazo Province in the Andes to speed up repairs and restore Alusi Road connectivity with other regions.
After the disaster – which residents say the government was warned about and did nothing about – residents in other parts of the country at risk left their homes on Friday, fearing an event similar to what happened in Alosi.
About 80 residents of the community of La Cría, in the province of Azuay, in southern Ecuador, went to an impromptu shelter, when cracks appeared on the slopes of the mountain that surrounds the town, through fields, sports fields and various properties.
npg/avr