Oaxaca, Mexico— The mountain moved while the truck was moving. On Tuesday, torrential rains soaked the Sierra Madre slopes above Federal Highway 175. At around 11 a.m. the embankment above a curve gave way. A cargo truck was in the wrong place.
Civil Protection Mexico said the slide hit near the Miahuatlan stretch, a notorious section for landslides during October rains. A wall of mud, rock, and uprooted pine hit the truck on its left side and pushed it 15 meters down the ravine. The cab crushed against a tree.
The driver survived. He was pulled from the wreck by motorists who stopped before second slides came. He suffered rib fractures and a leg injury. His cargo of produce spilled across the slope. The highway disappeared under a meter of mud.
"We felt the road shake," said a bus driver who was 100 meters behind. "Then the hill just fell. The truck was gone. One second it was there." He braked hard and reversed as more soil poured.
State crews closed the highway in both directions. The Oaxaca State Civil Protection office said rainfall exceeded 90 millimeters in 24 hours. The slope above the road had been logged last year. Roots that held it were gone.
Mexico's federal highway agency SCT said heavy machinery was dispatched but access was slow due to narrow shoulders and fog. Drivers were told to take a 6-hour detour via the Isthmus. Some slept in their vehicles.
The driver was taken to a rural clinic in Miahuatlan, then transferred to Oaxaca City. Officials said his condition is stable. His truck is still in the ravine. Retrieval will wait for stability.
Forecasts show more rain for southern Mexico as moisture streams from the Pacific. The soil is full. More slopes will go.
Tonight the highway is still buried. Red flares mark the edge. No one is crossing.
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