At least 25 people were killed and 52 were missing after five minor rivers in central Venezuela overflowed as a result of heavy rains, Citizen Security Vice President Remigio Ceballos said in a televised address Sunday evening.
Large tree trunks and debris from neighbouring mountains were washed into Tejerias, 40 miles (67 kilometres) southwest of Caracas, devastating businesses and agriculture, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said earlier in the day.
Rodriguez claimed that a month’s worth of rain had poured in just eight hours, and that flood floods had swept away pumps required to operate the community’s drinking water system.
Rodriguez stated that the focus was to find victims who were still stuck under mud and boulders across town, while military and rescue personnel combed the riverbanks for survivors.
‘We’ve lost boys and kids,’ the vice president remarked from a flooded Tejerias street. ‘What occurred in the town of Tejerias is a tragedy.’
President Nicolas Maduro labelled the area a disaster zone and established three days of mourning in a tweet.
According to Reuters witnesses, the streets of Tejerias, a town of approximately 73,000 people, were covered with mud, rocks, and twisted tree branches, and were lined with boarded-up buildings.
Armando Escalona, a 43-year-old taxi driver, claimed he and his family were attending an evangelical church service when the flood waters caught them off guard. He stated that he remembered briefly hugging his family before an unknown object struck his head and caused him to lose consciousness. He couldn’t find his family when he awoke.
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