Search halted at Bolivia village hit by mudslide

CHULLPA KHASA, Bolivia (AP) - Persistent heavy rains have forced Bolivians to suspend the search for victims in a mudslide that buried half of a village in the central part of the country.

Fears that more loose earth and rock could further overwhelm the hillside Quechua-speaking village of Chullpa Khasa in Cochabamba state halted the rescue effort Monday.

Families buried three victims of the Saturday night slide, but 11 others are still missing, most of them children. The slide also swallowed up crops and sheep.

Large swaths of Bolivia have been soaked by heavy downpours that have sent rivers over the banks in the country's Amazon.

Authorities say more than 47,000 families have been affected and 42 deaths since the rainy season began at the end of November.

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