SANTIAGO, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Chilean government confirmed Sunday that landslides on Saturday in Villa Santa Lucia had left five people dead, 12 injured and 18 missing.
According to local media, the vice minister of the Interior, Mahmud Aleuy, had updated the result of search and rescue operations as rubble was progressively cleared.
The landslide was provoked by a the movement of a glacier, swamping Route 7 near Villa Santa Lucia.
Firefighters, army, navy and air force units have all been dispatched to the area, with eight helicopters and four planes leading the search.
A central command post has been set up in Santa Lucia by the Emergency Regional Office to coordinate rescue efforts.
A report published Sunday confirmed that 20 houses had been destroyed.
Given that the country's presidential election is happening this weekend, the government has ordered the Electoral Service to deploy all resources needed to guarantee the normal functioning of polling stations.
