Frantic Rescuers Dig for Colombia Flood Victims, 254 Dead

Frantic Rescuers Dig for Colombia Flood Victims, 254 Dead
A man walks among the ruins after flooding and mudslides, caused by heavy rains leading several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment and rocks into buildings and roads, in Mocoa, Colombia April 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga
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MOCOA, Colombia—Families and rescuers searched desperately on Sunday through mud-plastered rubble for victims of flooding and landslides that killed 254 people, injured hundreds and devastated entire neighborhoods.

Several rivers burst their banks near the southwestern city of Mocoa in the early hours of Saturday, sending water, mud and debris crashing down streets and into houses as people slept.

“I need to know where they are, if they are injured or where to find them,” sobbed Maria Lilia Tisoy, 37, looking for her two daughters, one of whom was pregnant, and a 4-year-old granddaughter in the rubble of their home.

“If they are dead, please God deliver them to me.”

Like her, many families stayed up through the night to search in the debris, despite widespread lack of electricity in the city of about 345,000 inhabitants.

President Juan Manuel Santos was returning for a second visit to supervise the emergency operation on Sunday.

People walk on a street destroyed after flooding and mudslides, caused by heavy rains leading several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment and rocks into buildings and roads, in Mocoa, Colombia April 2, 2017. (REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga)
People walk on a street destroyed after flooding and mudslides, caused by heavy rains leading several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment and rocks into buildings and roads, in Mocoa, Colombia April 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga