• A landslide in Venezuela has killed at least 39 people and left over 50 missing, President Nicolas Maduro says.
• More than 1,300 families have been affected by the disaster in Aragua state.
• Heavy rain caused five streams near Las Tejerías to overflow on Sunday.

According to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a landslide in the northwestern state of Aragua on Sunday killed at least 39 people and left more than 50 people missing.

Maduro also suggested that hopes of safely rescuing the missing were fading. “In this tragedy, we are approaching nearly 100 victims, fatal victims,” he said in a video statement to state broadcaster VTV.

After days of heavy rain, a catastrophic landslide occurred in the Santos Michelena municipality more than three days ago.

Five streams near Las Tejeras overflowed due to the rain, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday, adding that search efforts were ongoing.

According to Carlos Pérez, deputy minister for Risk Management and Civil Protection, more than 1,000 officials from the National Risk Management System and police officers are involved in the search and rescue operation.

Maduro also announced that emergency funds had been made available to survivors and urged the local population to be patient.

He stated that it will take time to reach all of the families affected by the tragedy.

According to the Ministry of Communications, at least 1,300 families have been affected by the landslide, which has updated the death and missing toll.

According to Rodriguez, 317 homes were destroyed and 757 homes were damaged by the landslide. Water outages have affected over 10,000 families, he added.

Venezuela began three days of national mourning for disaster victims on Sunday.

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