- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
22 dead, dozens injured as flooding hits Ecuador capital
The heaviest flooding to hit Ecuador in two decades has killed at least 22 people in Quito, inundating homes, swamping cars and sweeping away athletes and spectators on a sports field, officials said Tuesday.
Twenty people are missing and 47 injured, Ecuador's SNGRE emergency service said on Twitter.
Video footage showed torrents of water carrying stones, mud and debris down streets in the Ecuadoran capital, as rescuers helped inhabitants wade through the fast-running currents to safety.
Many in the city of 2.7 million people were taken to shelters.
Rain that drenched Quito for 17 straight hours caused a deluge that damaged roads, agricultural areas, clinics, schools, a police station and an electric power substation.
Quito mayor Santiago Guarderas said a downpour had overwhelmed a hillside water catchment structure that had a capacity of 4,500 cubic meters but was inundated with more than four times that volume.
The resultant failure sent a kilometer-long (half-mile-long) deluge through a sports field where volleyball players were practicing with spectators on the sidelines.
"People who were playing couldn't get away. It grabbed them suddenly," witness Freddy Barrios Gonzalez told AFP.
"Those who managed to run were saved (but) a family got buried" under a river of mud, added Gonzalez, his own clothes still muddy from the ordeal.
"There they died."
It was not immediately known how many of the players or spectators were among the total number of dead and injured.
Soldiers with rescue dogs were scouring the area around the field for survivors.
Quito police chief Cesar Zapata did not rule out finding more bodies under thousands of cubic meters (cubic feet) of mud and debris left behind by the flood.
- 'Rivers of mud' -
Rescuer Cristian Rivera said many people in Quito had to be treated for hypothermia.
The municipality has mobilized heavy machinery to clear roads and fix the failed water catchment system.
Resident Mauro Pinas said he heard "an explosion" when the structure burst, after which "rivers of mud" descended on the city -- mainly in the northwest.
Power was lost in some parts after electrical poles were brought down.
Dozens of soldiers were deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts of the police and fire brigades.
The flooding began on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, which overlooks the nation's capital.
Guarderas said Monday's rainfall brought down 75 liters (20 gallons) per square meter (square foot) following 3.5 liters on Saturday.
This is "a record figure, which we have not had since 2003," he added.
President Guillermo Lasso, who traveled to China on Monday, offered his condolences on Twitter to those affected.
"We continue to work in search and rescue, containment actions, psychological care and the transfer of injured people to hospital," he said.
Heavy rains have hit 22 of Ecuador's 24 provinces since October, leaving at least 18 dead and 24 injured as of Sunday, according to the National Risk Management Service.
Scientists say climate change is intensifying the risk of heavy rain around the world because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.
H.Portela--PC