Bogota, May 18 (EFE).– At least 33 people died and an unknown number are missing in a landslide caused when a creek overflowed in the town of Salgar, in northwest Colombia, a regional government spokesman confirmed to Efe.

“The latest official figure provided by the Dapard (emergency management department) is of 33 dead and an undetermined number of missing, but it could go higher,” said a spokesman for the Antioquia provincial government.

Rains over the past hours caused the Li Liborina creek to flood, wiping out the village of La Margarita, authorities said.

The tragedy is “immeasurable,” there are “many, many dead,” the Salgar government secretary, Zulma Osorio, told Caracol Radio.

She added that the town’s infrastructure had totally collapsed, with gas and water service no longer available, adding that 27 injured people had been admitted to various hospitals in the region.

Osorio said that “the landslide occurred after a heavy rain during the night and early morning hours, when the water swept away everything in its path, homes, bridges, entire families.”

It was expected that at midday on Monday Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Antioquia Gov. Sergio Fajardo would visit the area, some 97 km (60 mi.) from Medellin, the provincial capital.

Santos said on his Twitter account that the Colombian government is attending to the emergency in Salgar via the National Risk and Disaster Management Unit, or UNGRD.

“Those affected will receive all our help,” said the president in his brief message.

Firefighting units have been dispatched to the scene from nearby towns to scour through the ruins of the town for the missing, according to UNGRD, which is coordinating the rescue operation.

Meanwhile, the National Police ordered a group of 40 rescue personnel to the zone, along with two helicopters to transport the injured and those affected in other ways by the tragedy. EFE