A mudslide at the construction site of a hydroelectric power plant in Ecuador left 13 people dead and about a dozen others injured Sunday.The accident occurred around 8.30 p.m. Saturday at the construction site of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the largest facility of its kind in the country.Three Chinese workers and 10 Ecuadorians reportedly died in the accident.Coca Codo Sinclair is located about 150 km east of the Ecuadorian capital of Quito.President Rafael Correa commented on the mudslide in a Twitter post."Serious accident last night at Coca Codo. 13 confirmed dead: 10 Ecuadorians and 3 Chinese. Our hearts go out to their families and co-workers," the Ecuadorian president said.
The injured were transported to hospitals in the neighboring towns of Lago Agrio and Lumbaqui.Emergency management office personnel, soldiers and police were deployed at the construction site, where 15 people were trapped in the mud, according to initial reports.The accident presumably happened in a tunnel at the construction site.The $2.2 billion Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric power plant, which is expected to start operating in February 2015, will have a generating capacity of 1,500 MW.China's Sinohydro consortium is building the power plant, which will supply enough electricity to meet 36 percent of Ecuador's power needs.