ReliefWeb

Bogota (dpa) - Colombian rescue squads on Thursday found another 14 bodies of people killed by flooding during two weeks of rain in the Andes, driving up the total death toll in Colombia and Venezuela to 116.

The director of the Red Cross in northeastern Santander province, Duberney Pabon, said the bodies of the farmers were found in a river near the town of Lebrija. He said that with the 14 deaths, the number of lives claimed by the rains in Colombia rose to 55.

He said authorities were unable to estimate the number of people missing and those who lost their homes in the floods because highways were still blocked in many areas, preventing access to affected communities.

Rainfall continued in Colombia, but it had tapered off in Venezuela, were the death toll this week reached 61, with 70 people still missing. Officials in Venezuela said 22,000 people had lost their homes because of the flooding. Another 38,000 homes were damaged. dpa am ls