Mudslides triggered by torrential rains in the western Colombian city of Manizales have left 14 people dead thus far and nine others missing, according to the latest Red Cross report on Wednesday. "The situation is lamentable. I don't want to get ahead of the official figures, but I believe the death toll could rise to 15 or 20," Efe news agency quoted Manizales Mayor Jose Octavio Cardona as saying. In addition, 75 homes have been damaged or destroyed and 23 people injured.

The mudslides were triggered by heavy rainfall Tuesday night and occurred less than 20 days after more than 300 died in the southern Colombian city of Mocoa, where torrential rains caused rivers to burst their banks and send water, mud and debris crashing into residential areas. The neighborhoods hardest hit by the mudslides in Manizales, a mountainous city of more than 400,000 inhabitants, were Aranjuez, Persa, Sierra Morena, Gonzalez and Granjas Y Viviendas.