The Municipal Council for Disaster Risk Management of Andes, Southwest Antioquia, reported a mass movement that fell on a school in the village of El Porvenir, Tapartó district.
Aldemar Augusto Ramírez Giraldo, parish priest of the corregimiento, said that the landslide occurred when the students of the rural school, located five minutes from the urban area of Tapartó, were on break.
“A landslide came and covered the school. At the time the children were playing in the yard, at recess, and it took most of them”narrated the religious.
Diego Peña López, director (e) Dagran, specified that, according to the head of the municipality, 25 minors are enrolled in the school, of which 22 attended classes today.
“At the moment we already have, corroborated, 17 children who were rescued, who are fine, are being treated, none seriously. We have yet to find five children who are being part of the search and rescue process,” said the director in charge.
Around 3 pm, Army sources reported that of the four minors who were removed from the rubble, three died and only one girl is alive.
Of the fatalities, two were 6 years old and another was 5. One boy and two girls.
The mayor of Andes, Carlos Alberto Osorio Calderón, said that there was a dam in the upper part where the school is located, which caused a loud noise that alerted the students, the teacher and a mother, who managed to escape.
For his part, the governor in charge, Juan Pablo López, said that more than 200 people from different dependencies participated in the rescue work and said that, after an overflight, they did not show geological faults in the mountain, so the landslide It was due to water dammed in it.Regarding the condition of the children who were saved, López indicated that they are out of danger.
Regarding the deceased, resuscitation was attempted on two, but they were already in a state in which nothing could be done.
Carlos Arroyave, director of the Andes Hospital, said that they had the support of ambulances from other municipalities in Southwest Antioquia.
“Two stable children were moved to the hospital, who are conscious, but will continue to be observed to ensure their condition. Regarding the deceased, resuscitation was attempted on two, but they were already in a state that nothing could be done. The last one to arrive was without vital signs. We are providing psychosocial support to the families, to whom we send our condolences,” said the manager.
Neighbors of the place, armed with shovels, try to remove the earth to rescue the minors with the support of the Firefighters of Andes, Hispania and Betania.
The President of the Republic, Iván Duque, announced that there are already rescue forces at the scene and that the national government is monitoring the emergency.
“Search and rescue teams are already present in the village of Tapartó, a rural area in the municipality of Andes, Antioquia, to attend to the emergency caused by the landslide on a school. We are permanently monitoring the situation,” said Duque.
Search and rescue teams are already present in the village of Tapartó, a rural area of the municipality of Andes, Antioquia, to attend to the emergency caused by the landslide on a school. We constantly monitor the situation.
— Ivan Duke (@IvanDuque) July 14, 2022
MEDELLÍN