Venezuela landslide: Maduro vows to rebuild town of Las Tejerías

Hopes are fading that any more survivors will be found, four days on from a deadly landslide in the small Venezuelan town of Las Tejerías.

Residents from surrounding regions have arrived to help search through the thick mud and debris, as well as police, soldiers and sniffer dogs.

Forty-three people are confirmed to have died and more than 50 people are still missing.

But President Nicolás Maduro said the final death toll could reach 100.

Torrential rainfall caused the river El Pato to burst its banks on Saturday, causing floodwaters to wash away trees, cars, houses and shops in the town, some 50km south-west of the capital, Caracas.

Local media reports that more than 300 houses have been destroyed. The area has been declared a natural disaster zone.

Nataly Matos, 34, is still trying to find her 65-year-old mother.

“We’re digging in the house because, in her last call, she said she was drowning in the kitchen,” Ms Matos told news agencies.

“I don’t know whether to scream, I don’t know whether to run… whether to cry,” she said of the frustration in waiting for news.

Another local, Jackeline Guzman said: “As you can see, we lost everything – houses, people, children. We’re in pain for so many losses. It was so hard to build this all and now we’re left with nothing.”

On Tuesday several funerals were held, including for at least one child who died. Distressing pictures at the service show mourners collapsed from grief.

Agencies