Interior Minister: Colombian landslide kills at least 33 people.

Colombia is experiencing its worst rainy season in forty years, which started in August and has resulted in a number of incidents that have already claimed the lives of over 270 people.

The interior ministry reported that nine passengers had been rescued alive from the landslide that buried a bus in northwest Colombia on Sunday, leaving at least 33 dead.

The car was struck by a landslide in the Risaralda region between the communities of Pueblo Rico and Santa Cecilia, some 230 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of the capital Bogota, as a result of heavy rainfall.

“We have already found 33 people dead, including three minors, and we have rescued nine people alive, four of them are in a critical condition,” Interior Minister Alfonso Prada told reporters on Monday.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro described the incident as a tragedy in a Twitter message.

“Solidarity with the families of the victims,” Petro said, pledging support from the national government.

Reporters were informed by Pueblo Rico Mayor Leonardo Fabio Siagama that remains were being transported to the town’s covered stadium, which is typically used for athletic events.

The bus was heading to the community of Condoto in the province of Choco from Cali, the third-largest city in Colombia. There were at least 25 individuals on board, according to civil defense officials.

The bus driver avoided the worst of the landslide, a survivor had earlier told the AFP news agency.

“Part of it was coming down and the bus was a little bit back from that. The bus driver was backing up when it all came crashing down,” Andres Ibarguen told radio station Lloro Stereo.

According to the government, Colombia’s rainy season, which started in August, is the worst in the country’s history and has resulted in accidents that have killed over 270 people.