Heavy rains in Bolivia cause landslide in La Paz, destroying homes; 1 missing

LA PAZ, Bolivia — 

A landslide caused by dense rains aft a prolonged drought successful La Paz, the superior of Bolivia, flooded dozens of homes aboriginal Sunday, section authorities said. It swept distant a young girl, spurred evacuations and near parts of the metropolis without electricity.

Torrential rainfall connected Saturday caused a stream to spill its banks, dislodging mud from a southwestern La Paz vicinity wherever low-slung, shoddily built dwellings dot the hillside.

The torrent of rocks and ungraded surged down a constrictive ravine aboriginal Sunday, wrecking immoderate 2 twelve homes and flooding different 40, said Juan Carlos Calvimontes, Bolivia's lawman civilian defence minister.

"I mislaid my store and the cars that I had determination are buried," said car mechanic Luis Mencias, his dependable shaking arsenic helium surveyed the oversea of debris.

Hours aft the rainfall subsided, rescuers were inactive searching for a missing 5-year-old miss successful the inundated vicinity of Bajo Llojeta. Emergency workers trudged done the boot-sucking mud connected Sunday, pulling astatine slightest six residents — suffering from hypothermia, their hairsbreadth matted with sludge — from the collapsed hillside. Soldiers helped wide mud from the streets.

"My girl was with her cousins erstwhile the mud came," said Grover Mendoza, the missing girl's father. "The neighbors rescued my nephews, but my girl was missing."

The politician of La Paz, Iván Arias, straight blamed the mediocre operation of houses perched connected the hillside without permits.

"There are irresponsible radical who destabilize the hillside and the rains resistance it away, affecting the lower-lying neighborhoods," helium said.

In a sojourn to the site, President Luis Arce delivered assistance to flood victims and vowed to clasp radical liable for the amerciable operation that exacerbated the damage.

"We are shocked by what happened," helium said. "This cannot beryllium near similar this. An probe indispensable beryllium carried out."

The metropolis of La Paz, nestled successful a vale surrounded by precocious hills, is peculiarly prone to floods and landslides. Bolivia's rainy play is conscionable starting aft the federation suffered 1 of its astir terrible droughts successful caller memory.