At Least 48 Fatalities After Landslide Hits Colombian Village · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Salgar in Antioquia, Colombia. Image on Flickr by user Iván Erre Jota (CC BY-SA 2.0). Archive photo
At least 48 people were killed and an unknown number of people are missing after a landslide caused by heavy rains that hit the community of Salgar, in the Colombian department of Antioquia, in the early hours of May 18, 2015.
The secretary of government of Salgar, Zulma Osorio, declared that the “tragedy has had an overwhelmingly big magnitude (…), there are many fatalities, the community has completely collapsed.”
The president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, expressed this on Twitter:
En Salgar decretamos calamidad pública para atender emergencia.Desde GobNal y con GobAntioquia @sergio_fajardo todo nuestro apoyo a víctimas
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) Mayo 18, 2015
We've declared a state of public disaster in Salgar to respond to the emergency. From the national government and with the governor of Antioquia, Sergio Fajardo, all our support goes to the victims.
The Red Cross of Antioquia used the microblogging network to ask for donations:
Fuerte la tragedia en Salgar, si pueden ayudar con cobijas y alimentos no perecederos en centro logístico en Medellín pic.twitter.com/eGOP2QIKF6 — Ricardo Quevedo (@cejaspobladas) Mayo 18, 2015
Huge tragedy in Salgar, if you can help with blankets and non-perishable food at the logistics center in Medellin.
Other users said:
Más socorristas y menos oportunistas es los que se necesita en Salgar a esta hora.
— Felix de Bedout (@fdbedout) Mayo 18, 2015
More rescuers and less opportunistic people is what it needed in Salgar right now.
Ahora los políticos aprovechando tragedia de Salgar a favor y en contra! MISERABLES — MONICA RODRIGUEZ (@MONYDIAADIA) Mayo 18, 2015
Now the politicians pro and against are taking advantage of the tragedy in Salgar! MISERABLE PEOPLE.
Gobierno atiende emergencia en Salgar, Antioquia, que habría dejado más de 30 muertos.http://t.co/toHP8z0Kco pic.twitter.com/D6K4B3IqcN — Noticias RCN (@NoticiasRCN) Mayo 18, 2015
Government responds to the emergency in Salgar, Antioquia, which has left more than 30 dead.