Colombia mudslide: Four dead as Corinto town inundated

At least four people have died and 18 are missing after a mudslide swept through the town of Corinto in Colombia's south-west Cauca province.

Emergency workers said the La Paila river burst its banks and swept mud, boulders and branches through the town's centre.

At least 29 people have been injured, and 243 families in the town affected, Colombian daily El Tiempo reports.

Landslides are not unusual in the mountainous areas of Colombia.

In April more than 300 people were killed in the town of Mocoa, in southern Putumayo province.

El Tiempo tweeted a video of the affected area.

President Juan Manuel Santos said firefighters had been deployed from the city of Cali to help residents of the affected area.

He added that humanitarian aid would be provided and the scale of the damage would be assessed.

Residents have been evacuated as the risk of further mudslides remains high because the river bed is blocked by debris.

Corinto has often featured in the news in Colombia as it was the site of frequent and bloody battles between left-wing Farc rebels and the security forces before the rebels signed a peace deal.

(BBC)