Firefighters, personnel from the Ministry of Risks and specialized police were working hard this Sunday on the Loja – Zamora road to try to locate people reported as missing.
A section of that road was affected by landslides and it is presumed that several people were trapped. Several families came to this section to try to find their relatives.
Reports of missing persons began to be registered on the afternoon of Saturday, October 23 at ECU911. Families called to show their concern because they had relatives who should have arrived at their destinations on the night of Friday, October 22, however, they did not arrive.
Until Saturday morning it was only a landslide that obstructed the road, and the workers of the Ministry of Public Works and Police, dedicated themselves to cleaning the section in order to evacuate the vehicles held in those 7 kilometers in length.
The road that connects Loja and Zamora is blocked by landslides and overflows
However, the alert of possible victims began to be woven when the driver of an interprovincial transport bus warned that two vehicles that were traveling on that road, passed him, and were apparently hit by a larger landslide.
Unofficially, it has been known that there would be three vehicles that fell into the abyss of more than 300 meters, and of which only parts have been found.
It is presumed that there would be six disappeared, but there are other people who have gone directly to the scene of the accident to report other missing persons, which would add to 8 the number of possible victims.
Hugo Quevedo and Sonia Jadán, a married couple, left Yantzaza on Friday night. They were going to take a bus in Loja to take them to Riobamba. They took a truck for it and at the moment they are missing.
“We understand that the driver was traveling in that truck, one more person who took that truck to go to Loja and my in-laws with whom we had contact for the last time at 6:40 p.m. on Friday,” said Carolina Lalangui, Hugo’s political daughter. and Sonia.
One person was injured after a new accident on the Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme road
She added that on Saturday her husband was at the site of the landslide looking for the disappeared, and they found his father’s belongings (suitcase). He asked the national authorities to summon more rescuers to help search for the missing.
The search work is being carried out with National Police personnel, firefighters from Loja and Zamora Chinchipe, drones and dogs, but the bodies have not been found.
Another of the disappeared is Miguel Aldeán Ayala, a civil engineer by profession who was dedicated to construction. It was the driver of that truck. His family has also arrived at the site of the landslide.
Elizabeth López, Luis Buri and Silvana Sánchez, officials of the parish government of Los Encuentros (Yantzaza), are also missing. They would have been on the road in a vehicle traveling on it. They left their place of work in the Los Encuentros parish bound for the city of Loja last Friday afternoon.
There are 7 kilometers of road in which there have been several landslides, but the largest has occurred at kilometer 39 of the Loja – Zamora road, since its length is 150 meters in length.
The surface of the ground where they are going up and down to search for the missing is very uneven. The geography becomes inaccessible in some sectors, and the Zamora river, where the remains of the vehicles and the disappeared are also supposed to be, is very overgrown and mixed with undergrowth.
“This Sunday the rescue efforts have been articulated to search for our brothers who on Friday were swept away by the landslide. The remains of a vehicle in which passengers who are from the Los Encuentros parish were transported have been found, ”said Absalón Campoverde, governor of Zamora Chinchipe.
The official said that he has coordinated with CELEC to begin to reduce the water level of the dam (Delsitanisagua) so that the divers can begin to do their work.
The extension, breadth and depth of the Zamora River is incalculable, making the search task difficult and dangerous.
The road this Sunday is disabled as a precaution and to protect the lives of users. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
