Quito (Ecuador), Mar 27 (AP) At least 16 people died and 16 others were injured when a massive landslide buried dozens of homes in an Andean community in central Ecuador, the country's emergency response agency reported on Monday.

Ecuador's Risk Management Secretariat said seven people remain missing hours after the landslide Sunday in Alausí, about 137 miles (220 kilometers) south of the capital, Quito.

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The disaster also destroyed a portion of the Pan-American Highway.

The governor of Chimborazo, Ivan Vinueza, told The Associated Press that some of the injured have been taken to area hospitals. He added that people have been ordered to evacuate the area due to the imminent risk of new landslides. (AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)