Colombia declares emergency as Mocoa landslide leaves at least 254 dead and hundreds missing

Colombia's President has declared an "economic, social and ecological emergency" as rescuers searched for hundreds of missing people after the southern city of Mocoa was engulfed on Saturday by a huge landslide of mud, rocks and gushing waters.

Juan Manuel Santos said the government was also putting 40,000m pesos (€13 million) towards "addressing humanitarian priorities".

Officials from the national disaster agency had counted 210 dead by Sunday morning, with 62 children among the victims. The government later revised the death toll up to 254. A further 203 people were injured, many in a critical condition.

More than 500 people were staying in emergency housing and social services had helped 10 lost children find their parents.

Families of the dead will receive about €6,000 in aid and the government will cover hospital and funeral costs.

The Red Cross told news agency AFP they were still within the 72-hour window where they would hope to find people alive.

The disaster struck in the early hours of Saturday when the rushing waters of the Mocoa river and its tributaries converged on the capital of Putumayo province, catching many people by surprise as they slept.

The scale of the Mocoa disaster was daunting compared with recent tragedies, including a 2015 landslide that killed nearly 100 people.

Colombia's deadliest landslide, the 1985 Armero disaster, killed more than 20,000 people.