News Directory

Lima (ANTARA News / Xinhua-Oana) - Landslides have killed at least 20 people and made another 35 people missing in the Peruvian Amazon, according to the National Civil Defence Institute of Peru (Indeci), Friday.

Landslides that occurred on Thursday night, in Ambo, Huanuco region, about 550 kilometers northeast of Lima, and affects three towns, said Indeci.

Indeci spokeswoman, Medaltih Sotil, told reporters that some firefighters and police squads of National Peru found seven bodies from a river in the region.

In addition, as many as 60 homes were damaged or could not live in, so that as many as 120 families lost their homes, said Sotil.

"The damage is not just happening in the small town of El Arroyito, El Porvenir, and 16 de Noviemeber, place of residence of the poor, but also in other neighboring regions," said Sotil, citing initial information.

"We did a big effort, first to alleviate the suffering (the people) and property loss," he said.

On Thursday, in the Huanuco region - on the highway Huanuco-Tingo Maria - Another landslide also killed at least seven people and made some people missing in an area known as Cancejo.

Machines and workers were deployed to Cancejo and Ambo to remove mud and stone, with the aim of reopening the road that was blocked by landslides and allow humanitarian aid sent to the area.