Colombia mudslide: Three dead as Corinto town inundated

The La Paila river burst its banks and swept mud and boulders through Corinto

Three people have died and 32 have been injured after a mudslide swept through the town of Corinto in Colombia's south-west Cauca province.

Emergency workers said the La Paila river burst its banks and swept mud, boulders and branches through the town's centre.

More than 200 families in the town are affected and thousands of people have been evacuated.

Mountainous areas of Colombia are often hit by landslides.

In April more than 300 people were killed in the town of Mocoa, in southern Putumayo province.

From the air, the extent of the damage could be seen

Residents struggled to make their way through the knee-deep mud

They tried to salvage as many possessions as they could

More than 200 families have been affected

Emergency workers revised the death toll down in Corinto from four to three after they realised that one of the bodies found was that of a man whose wake had been taking place at the time of the mudslide.

El Tiempo tweeted a video of the affected area.

President Juan Manuel Santos said firefighters had been deployed from the city of Cali to help residents of the affected area.

He added that humanitarian aid would be provided and the scale of the damage would be assessed.

Residents have been evacuated as the risk of further mudslides remains high because the river bed is blocked by debris.

Corinto has often featured in the news in Colombia as it was the site of frequent and bloody battles between left-wing Farc rebels and the security forces before the rebels signed a peace deal.