Bus Swept Into Raging Muddy Torrent As Flash Flood Hits Santiago

A bus was caught in a powerful torrent of muddy water after a canal overflowed amid heavy rain in San Carlos de Apoquindo, Las Condes, on Thursday, October 8.

The torrent was detected around 5 p.m. on Francisco Bulnes Correa, with floodwater flowing west along General Blanche. Private cars and public-transport vehicles were reportedly dragged by the rushing water as mud and debris covered the roads.

The Santiago Fire Department declared the entire institution on station and placed its USAR, GORA and GRIMP rescue groups on alert as a frontal system battered the capital.

Army units and eight Mowag vehicles were deployed, with a command post established at Claro Arena. Chile’s disaster agency, Senapred, said there had not been enough time to issue an emergency mobile phone alert.

The wider storm system caused damage across several regions, with six people injured, 118 affected, 147 sheltered and 75 homes suffering major damage from Coquimbo to Los Lagos. Authorities did not specify casualties from the flooding in Las Condes.