Two babies were among the 16 people swept away and drowned by the flood waters, largely from the overflowing Salado River, local police told AFP, in this city 475 km (295 miles) north of the capital.

About a quarter of the city's 400,000 people have been directly hit by the disaster. Sixty thousand people have ben evacuated from their homes.

Some 3,500 people are on security detail including federal and local officials.

SPACE.WIRE