|
Tons of rocks and ice
tumbled into the River Santa and wreaked
destruction |
1962: Thousands killed in Peru
landslide |
Artificially 1969:
The At least
2,000 people have been killed after a massive avalanche of rocks and ice
buried an entire mountain village and several settlements in north-west
Peru.
Last night millions of tons of snow, rocks, mud and debris tumbled down
the extinct volcano of Huascaran, Peru's highest mountain in the Andes
range.
The village of Ranrahirca and its inhabitants was totally destroyed
along with eight other towns. The mayor Alfonso Caballero said only about
50 of its 500 inhabitants survived. "In eight minutes Ranrahirca was wiped
off the map," he said.
Relief efforts are being hampered by the very storms that started the
devastating landslide, but there are believed to be few survivors.
Colonel Umberto Ampuera, head of emergency services, said the disaster
was "like a scene from Dante's Inferno".
He appealed to the Peruvian Government for aid to restore stricken
communications and reach anyone who escaped the landslide.
Two Peruvian Air Force planes have carried relief supplies to the area
and troops have been sent there to open up roads to Ranrahica and other
areas cut off by the avalanche.
A massive wall of ice and rocks, about 12 metres (40ft) high and 1km
(1,000 yards) high, roared down the River Santa. The river rose by eight
metres (26ft) carrying with it everything in its path down the Rio Santa
valley.
Bodies have been found at the port of Chimbote, 60 miles from the scene
of the tragedy, where the river meets the sea.
The President of the Peruvian Red Cross, Roberto Thorndike, estimated
between 2,000 and 2,500 people were killed.
But local authorities believe the death toll is higher - between 3,000
and 4,000 people.
The region is prone to major avalanches at this time of year when
glaciers melt and break off sliding through the "quebracas" (deep canyons)
in the valley below.
U Thant, the acting United Nations Secretary General, has offered Peru
aid to alleviate the situation.
In a telegram to President Manuel Prado he said representatives of the
UN technical assistance board and the UN children's fund would be ready to
give any help required of them.