Buried Alive!
A mudslide came down on
seven houses completely
destroying them, leaving
2 dead and 13 others
missing in Atenas,
following three days of
constant rain. The
mudslide came down
shortly after midnight
Wednesday morning.
The emergency call came
at 1:50am according to
the Atenas Cruz Roja
(Red Cross). However,
the darkness of the
night did not reveal the
magnitude of the job
ahead for the rescue
workers of the what is
being called a "tragedy
of great proportions".
The incident has the
residents of Bajo Cacao
de San Isidro, Atenas,
in the province of
Alajuela, 45 minutes
west of San José,
frightened as the rains
continue possibly
causing more mudslides
and hampering search and
rescue efforts.
The seven houses were
completely destroyed as
the side of the mountain
came down on them,
leaving nothing by mud
and rocks in its path.
Residents said that
minutes before the
avalanche of mud and
rock they heard a rumble
and then windows and
doors breaking from the
force of the disaster,
taking along everything
in its path. Some could
not escape and the Cruz
Roja has been working
feverishly since
yesterday to find the
reported missing.
More than 200 people
were on hand to help the
Cruzrojistas in the
search and rescue,
joined by the Bomberso
de Costa Rica
(firefighters) and
workers of the Comisión
Nacional de Emergencias
(CNE) - national
emergency commission.
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