Venezuela Flood Victims Sought

Rescue teams in helicopters searched Sunday for dozens of people missing in floods and landslides that had cut a trail of destruction through small Andean towns and killed at least 37 people over the last few days.

Rescue workers searching for victims began digging in what remained of Santa Cruz de Mora, where a swollen river tore through town Saturday, smashing homes and submerging some buses in a terminal, Col. Eslain Longa Tirado said at the nearby El Vigia military air base.

At least 13 people were killed in the town, President Hugo Chavez said in a radio and TV address. At least 39 people were missing, and officials said the number could rise.

Seven people died in two other towns in the same remote river valley.

“I want to express my sorrow to you in the Andes,” Chavez said.

Hundreds of soldiers, volunteers and paramedics were helping ferry emergency food shipments to victims and evacuate the injured by helicopter.

At least 15,000 people have been left homeless by flooding and landslides triggered by almost a week of torrential rain.

In north-central Colombia, flooding has killed at least 25 people and forced more than 25,000 to abandon their homes.

Although the rain stopped Sunday morning, it started again in the afternoon, complicating rescue efforts in Venezuela. At least 42 people were injured in the floods in the last week across the country, Venezuela Interior Minister Jesse Chacon said.

The government has declared an emergency in the capital of Caracas and nine states, and has approved a $52-million emergency fund.