A bus was filmed being swept away by a raging torrent of mud as terrified passengers clung to its roof during devastating floods in Chile. Harrowing footage shows the vehicle being carried away at breakneck speed through the San Carlos de Apoquindo area of Las Condes, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region.
Three people were reportedly clinging to the roof as the bus was dragged through the mud, while another six passengers, mainly university students and workers, were inside. According to Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias (LUN), footage recorded by passengers shows mud seeping beneath the doors and reaching the seats as rocks struck the bus and desperate shouts could be heard from inside.
Passengers describe terrifying escape
Sofía Opazo, a University of the Andes student who was on board, said there was barely any warning before the torrent struck. She told Chilean broadcaster T13: "We didn't even get off the bus because we were hit by a sudden downpour, along with a tree and everything. The bus started going backwards, backwards, backwards."
Passengers were eventually forced to push open a hatch at the top of the bus and climb onto its roof to escape the rising water. Another student, Joaquín Ugarte, described how high the mud had risen inside, saying: "I was covered in mud up to my hips."
A third passenger described the terrifying scenes as the vehicle continued to be swept along, saying: "We were on top of the bus, screaming and asking for help as we were being dragged along. Everyone was crying and screaming because it was flooding below. We came out completely covered in mud; some were hurt and others cut by glass, but fortunately nothing extremely serious."
Bus stops just short of strip mall
Passenger Joaquín Ugarte said the water and mud carried the bus for around two blocks before it finally came to a halt. He added: "Luckily it stopped, the bus came to a halt and I was able to jump through that glass; then I helped receive all the passengers who were still inside."
The driver was also reported to have been shouting and trying to escape after losing control of the bus as it was swept backwards. Passengers said the vehicle flooded almost to the top, forcing them towards the rear before they escaped through the emergency exit and onto the roof.
As it was swept along, the bus reportedly struck trees and utility posts before becoming lodged against two large trees, stopping it just 15 metres from crashing into a nearby strip mall.
Widespread flooding and emergency response
The mudslide struck San Carlos de Apoquindo on Thursday afternoon (October 8) amid heavy rainfall, sweeping down from the Honda ravine and sending mud, rocks and branches surging through streets. A canal also overflowed, sending a huge torrent of water down a main road.
Medical facilities and universities were flooded, while some people became trapped inside buildings as emergency crews launched rescue operations. At least six people were injured, including a one-year-old girl who suffered multiple broken bones, while no deaths have been reported.
More than 1,000 people were forced to flee their homes as flash floods and landslides hit Santiago, with some residents airlifted to safety. High alerts were issued across 10 districts, while Las Condes was placed under an official state of emergency.
Nearly six inches of rain had fallen in recent days - almost nine times the amount normally expected in October - with mayor Catalina San Martín saying the region was "totally saturated". Power cuts left almost 12,000 people without electricity, while dozens of homes were damaged or flooded.
President José Antonio Kast has since ordered Las Condes to be declared a disaster zone. University of Chile academic Felipe Ochoa said unusually heavy rainfall had saturated the soil on steep slopes, adding: "The scale of what we’re seeing was completely unexpected."
