BOGOTA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed in a landslide at a gold mine in the municipality of Santa Barbara de Iscuande in Colombia's southwestern department of Narino, local authorities said Monday.
Colombia's Ombudsman's Office called for urgent government support for search and rescue efforts.
"Several people are buried as a result of a landslide. They were people who were mining, and the report we have so far is nine dead," Alex Gonzalez, the department's secretary of peace and human rights, told local media.
The ombudsman's office warned of difficulties in responding to the emergency because of the critical public order situation in the area and asked for the immediate mobilization of human, technical and logistical resources to help the victims.
"We make an urgent call to national and local authorities to make available all the necessary human, technical and logistical resources," it said in a statement, stressing that saving lives is a priority.
The office asked the armed forces for air support for rescue work and for transporting the injured, as well as for the activation of the hospital network to guarantee medical care for those affected.
It also proposed considering the relocation of the hospital ship Benkos Bioho, currently stationed in Guapi, to provide health assistance at the site of the landslide.
The office further asked that the National Institute of Legal Medicine be present to identify the bodies and ensure their dignified handling, as well as the coordination of risk management agencies to carry out search, rescue and humanitarian assistance efforts. ■
