by Our Foreign Desk

RESCUE workers were helping hundreds of survivors and searching for bodies yesterday after a deadly landslide in Colombia killed at least 58 people.

The disaster in the western town of Salgar struck before dawn on Monday, after heavy rains triggered a mudslide that swept away entire buildings.

Survivors told of being woken by the sound of the landslide and warning shouts from neighbours before homes and bridges plunged into the Libordiana ravine.

“The river took out everything in its path,” said construction worker Diego Agudelo.

Dozens of rescuers supported by helicopters and fire engines evacuated residents for fear of a second mudslide.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who travelled to the town to oversee relief efforts, said that several children had lost their parents and that the bodies of those killed needed to be transported to Medellin for identification.

He vowed to rebuild the lost homes and provide shelter and assistance for the estimated 500 people affected by the calamity.

“Nobody can bring back the dead … but we have to handle this disaster as best we can to move forward,” Mr Santos said.

National Disasters Unit head Carlos Ivan Marquez said that, by Monday evening, 58 people were known to have been killed and 37 injured, with many more still missing.

The flooding destroyed the town’s aqueduct and even parts of less hazardous zones were deluged.Authorities provided water, food and blankets to help residents cope with the humanitarian emergency.

The flood was the worst in Colombia since more than 100 people died in the 2011 rainy season.

Elderly resident Luz Maria Urrego said she had escaped death because she had travelled to Medellin for the long holiday weekend.

But she said that her brother had been killed, along with his children and grandchildren.

Jorge Quintero recalled how he had been trapped between two torrents which carried away houses on either side of his own.“I said to my wife: ‘Let’s hold each other and hope that God saves us’,” he told reporters.

“I know God gave us his hand because here we are, alive, still frightened, but alive.”