Officials announced on Thursday that the death toll from a disastrous landslide that tore through a Venezuelan village close to the capital Caracas had grown to 50.
Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos updated the initial death toll of 43 by saying, "So far we officially have 50 victims who sadly lost their lives and (their remains) have been handed over to their family."
A main river and many streams overflowed in Las Tejerias, a hamlet of about 50,000 inhabitants situated in the mountains close to Caracas, as a result of unusually severe rains on Saturday.
The heavy rains created a mudslide that destroyed large trees, telephone cables, buildings, and automobiles.
About 3,200 people had been deployed to help the rescue and clean-up efforts in the town, Ceballos said.
President Nicolas Maduro said earlier in the week that the toll from Venezuela’s worst natural disaster in decades was likely to reach 100.
Experts say the storm was aggravated by the seasonal La Nina weather phenomenon gripping the region, as well as the effects of Hurricane Julia, which claimed at least 26 lives in Central America and caused extensive damage.
Crisis-hit Venezuela is no stranger to seasonal storms, but this was the worst so far this year following historic rain levels that caused dozens of other deaths in recent months.
Maduro has vowed to rebuild “each and every” home and business destroyed in the landslide.
“Las Tejerias will rise like the phoenix, Las Tejerias will be reborn,” he said.