<div style="text-align: justify; "><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The death toll climbed to 33 from a landslide that buried vehicles along a highway in Colombia over the weekend, Colombian Interior Minister Alfonso Prada said Monday.</span><br></b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The landslide that happened on Sunday buried a bus carrying passengers from Cali, in the western Valle del Cauca department, to Condoto, in the western Choco department, along with a car and a motorcycle on the Pereira-Quibdo Highway in the western-central department of Risaralda.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"We have identified 33 deceased people, including three minors. We have rescued nine people alive, four of them are currently in critical condition," Prada said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Personnel from Colombia's Risk Management Unit, and the Transit and Transportation Directorate of the Transportation Ministry, as well as the police department and the military, rushed to rescue, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">In the wake of the landslide, authorities plan to declare a nationwide maximum alert to prepare for weather-related disasters amid a cold wave that is expected to continue for several more months, said Prada.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered a National Unified Command Post to be installed in the capital Bogota by Tuesday at the latest to determine the state of the roadways under adverse weather conditions, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Risaralda Governor Victor Manuel Tamayo told reporters the highway where the accident occurred is in poor condition, complicating efforts to find survivors and retrieve the bodies of the victims. XINHUA/UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>