At least three killed in California mudslide

A huge mudslide crashed down on homes in a coastal village with terrifying force, killing three people and leaving more unaccounted for under the debris last night as a Pacific storm hammered Southern California for a fourth day.

Fire Department spokesman Joe Luna said the number of residents unaccounted for in La Conchita had risen to 21. Some of those people, however, could simply be out of town.

Eight people were injured, including a 60-year-old man who was buried for three hours in the village, 70 miles north-west of Los Angeles. The three confirmed dead were all adult males.

“It lasted a long time. It was slow-moving. The roofs of the houses were crashing and creaking real loud and there was a huge rumble sound,” said Robert Cardoza, a construction worker who was clearing debris from a nearby road.

As a driving rainstorm pounded the area early today, authorities decided it was too dangerous to continue searching through the mud and debris, which had piled up 30 feet high.

“We’re having to tug pretty hard on some of our people to get them to stop the search,” said the fire department’s chief investigator, Keith Mashburn.

“Because they know they feel if there’s people under there, they want to help them. And not knowing positively until you have them out if they’re alive or dead, they don’t want to stop.”

The mudslide brought the number of dead from the latest wave of storms to 12 in California. The storms have sent rainfall totals to astonishing levels, turning normally mild Southern California into a giant flood zone.

The hillside in La Conchita cascaded down like a brown river as authorities were evacuating about 200 residents from the area.

Some made their way from the area clutching pets, luggage or clothing as the huge mass of mud bore down. Others huddled together or cried as they talked on mobile phones. Fifteen houses were crushed by the slide.