Exclusive Report: 'I lost my mother and my disabled brother' in Venezuela landslide

The town of Tejerias, in central Venezuela, was left with post-apocalyptic scenes after a landslide killed at least 37 people over the weekend.  

ADN America went to the disaster area and found homes destroyed and covered with several meters of mud, trees dragged down from the mountain covering the streets, and businesses completely devastated by the worst landslide recorded this year in the country.

Heavy rains caused the flow of five streams and small rivers to overflow on Saturday in Tejerias, around 67 kilometers southwest of Caracas. It is estimated that at least 56 people are missing, according to the most recent count by the Red Cross of Aragua state.

"It is a very ugly tragedy what has happened… I have lost my mother [Tomasa Rivas] and my disabled brother [José Fernando Fernández]," Antonio Carrillo, one of the victims, told ADN America, adding that he has been living in the town for 60 years and this is the first time he has seen a disaster of this magnitude. 

Gigantic trees, cars, and the remains of houses were swept away by the current, which rose to six meters near the structures closest to the riverbed, many of which lost their walls.

The flooding, which is the worst the area has seen in the last 30 years, also swept away the town’s main road, which runs by the edge of the mountains.  

"As soon as we saw the river coming, we managed to escape running towards the main square, and we saw the whole mess," the owners of one of the premises buried by the landslide told ADN America.

The woman was grateful to be alive after what happened and acknowledged that many people have helped her. "It was very terrible, very painful, we saw many dead bodies as they were being pulled out… it was a total disaster," she added.

ADN América also consulted a member of the Militia—one of the state security forces deployed since Sunday in Las Tejerias—about the recovery and rescue efforts carried out in the town.

"It has been difficult but great efforts are being made… and doing everything possible to recover the bodies," he said after adding that the area was going to be evacuated.

After the landslide, the residents of Tejerias were left without electricity and communications after the strong current destroyed the telephone operators' antennas.

The leader of the Venezuelan regime, Nicolás Maduro, shared on Twitter photos of the disaster. He also called it a "natural catastrophe" and established three days of national mourning as of Sunday. 

The regime deployed rescue agencies, citizen security, maintenance and cleaning crews, and personnel from various institutions for "the integral attention of the people," said Maduro.  

The Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and other security agencies arrived at the disaster site to continue the search for the missing people.

Images of the tragedy in Tejerias