Ecuador: Deadly landslide after heaviest rainfall in years

Local residents and rescue crews have been desperately searching for survivors in the flooded area

A huge landslide triggered by the heaviest rainfall in Ecuador for almost 20 years has killed at least 22 people in the capital Quito, officials say.

Mud and rocks were carried down the slopes of the nearby Pichincha volcano. A recreation ground and eight houses were engulfed, and cars swept away.

At least 47 people were injured, and 20 are missing after Monday's landslide.

Weather experts said the amount of rain that hit the mountain was almost 40 times more than had been forecast.

"I saw how the current took a man and a child. It was horrible," local resident Belén Bermeo told Ecuador's El Universo newspaper.

Rescue crews are searching homes and streets covered by mud, as officials say 16 people are still missing.

The emergency services published a dramatic video showing the devastation caused by the flooding.

Several houses have been damaged in the neighbourhoods of La Gasca and La Comuna.

"We saw this immense black river that was dragging along everything, we had to climb the walls to escape," resident Alba Cotacachi, who evacuated her two young daughters from their home, told Reuters news agency.

Quito Mayor Santiago Guarderas said Monday's rainfall was "a record figure" not seen since 2003.