Shocking footage shows a powerful mudslide sweeping through a city, carrying cars and buses away in a raging torrent.
One clip, filmed from the front passenger seat of a moving car, shows the occupants trying to outrun the mudslide as it rapidly closes in on them from behind.
On the other side of the central reservation, parked cars can be seen being swept past them by the deluge.
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Another clip shows a bus being carried away at breakneck speed by a torrent of murky water.
The disaster struck the San Carlos de Apoquindo area of Las Condes, in Chile’s Santiago Metropolitan Region, yesterday afternoon (8 October).
It began when a canal overflowed amid heavy rainfall, sending a huge torrent of water down a main road.
Cars and buses were swept away, while medical facilities and universities were flooded.
People were left covered in mud, and others became trapped inside buildings, as reported by Need To Know.
The latest reports confirmed six people were injured, including a minor who suffered a fracture. No deaths have been reported.
President José Antonio Kast has since ordered Las Condes to be declared a disaster zone.
Civil engineer and University of Chile academic Felipe Ochoa said the disaster was triggered by unusually heavy rainfall for the time of year, which saturated the soil on steep slopes.
He also said high temperatures and the altitude at which temperatures drop below freezing played a key role in destabilising the Andean slopes.
He told local media: “The scale of what we’re seeing was completely unexpected.”
At the time of the latest update, firefighters were still carrying out rescue operations.
Ochoa added: “The good thing is that Chile generally responds well to emergencies – we’re quick to react.”
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