Bogotá, Colombia— A massive landslide buried homes in a mountainous region of Colombia on October 18, 2026, killing at least eight people and trapping others under mud and rock.
The slide hit in the early morning hours. Heavy rain had soaked the slope for days. Then the hillside gave way. It slid in one mass, taking houses with it.
Officials in the affected department said eight bodies had been recovered by afternoon. Several more people were listed as missing. The number was not firm.
Rescue crews from the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management arrived with dogs and excavators. Progress was slow. The ground kept moving. A second slide was possible.
"We heard a roar and the earth shook," a survivor told Al Jazeera from a shelter. "We ran. Some did not make it." Others stood watching the hill, waiting for news.
The landslide blocked the only paved road into the area. That forced crews to bring equipment on smaller tracks. Rain continued to fall. Visibility dropped.
Local mayors ordered evacuations on neighboring slopes. About 50 families were moved. They were housed in a school. The mayor said the area had been flagged before as high-risk.
Colombia’s Andean region sees frequent landslides. Deforestation, informal construction, and intense seasonal rain combine. Warning systems exist but rarely cover remote hamlets.
Engineers said they would need days to stabilize the slope. For now the priority was search. A civil defense official said no voices had been heard under the debris since noon.
Teams worked under floodlights as night approached. The list of missing remained on a whiteboard.
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