Colombian president voices sadness over fire leaving 2 dead, 72 homes destroyed

BOGOTA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Ivan Duque on Sunday stated his sadness on Twitter over a fire that consumed 72 homes and caused the deaths of a woman and an eight-year-old girl in the municipality of Riosucio in the Choco department.

"I have instructed @UNGRD (National Risk and Disaster Management Unit) and the vice minister of the interior, @DanielPalam to move, from this morning, to the area to work hand in hand with the local authorities to urgently coordinate the care of families and accelerate a plan for comprehensive action," he said.

The fire on Sunday morning lasted about 4 hours and affected around 300 people. As the municipality does not have a fire department and most homes are built from wood, the flames quickly got out of control.

"The fire left us with great losses, incalculable material losses. We lost the house, the neighbors and practically all my family have been left on the street. We were left with what we are wearing," Luis Fernando Gonzalez, one of the victims, told local media.

The secretary of the interior for the department of Choco, Nubia Cordoba, said that, together with the National Army, authorities arrived at the scene to render aid to the victims.

The mayor of Riosucio, Conrad Vayoles, called on the local and national governments to support the victims, and also construct a fire department in the municipality to prevent emergencies like this from occurring again in the future.

The seventh division of the Colombian National Army reported that soldiers are already in Riosucio aiding citizens, and announced that engineers from the 17th Brigade will be in charge of rebuilding the destroyed homes.