On Sunday, Jaime Herrera, the mayor of Carmen de Atrato, confirmed that the death toll from the landslide on the Medellin-Quibdo road had risen to 36.
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The landslide occurred on Friday afternoon, burying several vehicles that were stopped, apparently due to a landslide that had previously blocked the road between Medellin and Quibdo, the capital of Choco. This natural event also buried a house where about fifty people were taking shelter from the rain.
Throughout the weekend, rescue efforts continued tirelessly while Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared a "natural disaster" due to the landslides on a road near El Carmen de Atrato. Choco Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba urged people to avoid traveling through the area as rains could trigger new landslides.
The emergency has also left 20 injured at the moment, with the majority being treated at Carmen del Atrato hospital, the closest to the area.
The text reads, "The latest: the death toll rises after two landslides that occurred on Friday on a highway near El Carmen de Atrato, in the Choco department, Colombia."
On Monday, Pope Francis was saddened by the Choco landslides and offered the "comforting apostolic blessing" to all those affected by this catastrophe.
"The Holy Father, deeply saddened to know of the natural disaster affecting the Choco region, causing numerous victims and material damage, offers fervent suffrages for the eternal rest of the deceased," said Pietro Paronin, the secretary of Vatican State.
"The Pope begs the Lord to grant consolation to the bereaved and to all who suffer in these moments of pain and uncertainty, and to support with his grace all those who are committed to the search for the missing."