A LANDSLIDE fuelled by flooding and days of torrential rain swept through a town in central Venezuela, leaving at least 22 people dead as it dragged mud, rocks and trees through neighbourhoods, authorities said on Sunday. Dozens of people are missing.

Residents of Las Tejerias in Santos Michelena, an agro-industrial town in Aragua state 54 miles south-west of Caracas, had just seconds to reach safety late Saturday as debris swept down a mountainside onto them.

The official death toll rose to 22 after the recovery of 20 bodies on Sunday, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez told state-owned Venezolana de Television.