Heavy rains in the city of Las Tejerias, which is located about 40 kilometers west of Venezuela's capital Caracas, caused many rivers in the region to overflow and landslides.
In a statement, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez stated that 22 people lost their lives in the landslide and said that 5 rivers in the region overflowed and the search efforts for more than 50 missing people were continuing.
“We are seeing very serious damage here, we have found 22 dead so far, more than 50 people are missing,” Rodriguez said. "We are trying to find these people," he said.
Stating that children were among those who lost their lives in the disaster, Rodriguez stated that three days of national mourning was declared for those who lost their lives in the incident. Officials announced that many houses were destroyed and power cuts were experienced in some settlements due to the heavy rain that lasted for more than an hour and a half in the region.