Colombia landslide claims 62

Salgar

 Residents of the Colombian town hit by a massive landslide began a difficult clean-up yesterday, as rescuers resumed the increasingly hopeless search for those still missing after a disaster that claimed at least 62 lives.

 After spending the night in shelters, residents of La Margarita, the hardest-hit town, returned to the ruins of their community to search for missing family members or shovel out the mud that filled their homes.

 Rescue workers meanwhile resumed the search for victims, which they had to call off overnight as the heavy rains that triggered the landslide continued pounding the area.

 "It's horrible. There are no words for it. It's like a dream, like coming in for a landing when you see the magnitude of the disaster," said Nora Quinceno, who was sleeping like most locals when the disaster struck around 3:00 am Monday.

 At least 40 people were injured in the landslide, which tore through the municipality of Salgar in the mountains of northwest Colombia after the Liboriana river burst its banks and sent a flood of mud rushing down a ravine.

 "I had a daughter and granddaughter living there who were swept away. We're at a loss, we don't have anywhere to go," Omar Londono, another survivor said.

 Electricity and water service have still not been restored to the area, but dump trucks arrived to cart off loads of mud and debris.

President Juan Manuel Santos, who visited the area Monday, promised residents: "We will not forget you."

 e described the scene as "Dantean."

More than 350 emergency workers have been dispatched to the area to assess the damage, set up shelters, distribute drinking water, treat the injured and provide psychological counseling.

 Santa Margarita, which the local mayor said was practically "wiped off the map," is one of four towns that make up Salgar, a municipality of 17,000 people in the department of Antioquia.