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World's deadliest avalanche killed 30,000 - but hero clown led 300 children to safety
avalanche on record, which is believed to have killed as many as 30,000 people, and most of them were saved by a clown.The Huascarán avalanche was triggered exactly 52 years ago on May 31, 1970 when an earthquake destabilised a glacier at the top of a mountain in Yungay Province, Peru.As the mass of snow and ice roared down the mountainside it collected a huge mass of rocks and gravel, turning into an unstoppable avalanche.On its 100-mile journey to the Pacific coast, it smashed through the town of Yungay, where thousands had gathered for the weekly Sunday market.Little remained of Yungay after the combined damage from the earthquake and avalanche. Only a few grim reminders of it sexistence, such as the ruined cathedral and cemetery, can still be seen in the area.The only other sign that the town ever existed is "a statue of Jesus Christ with his arms outstretched, standing tall above the rubble" which remains today as a memorial to the thousands killed in the disaster.The Ancash earthquake (also known as the Great Peruvian earthquake) struck at about 3.20pm.The quake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, affected an area of over 32,000 square miles, an area larger than Ireland.As the avalanche it caused gathered more mass, it turned into a deadly mudflow that travelled at 270 mph, ejecting some small rocks and stones at speeds estimated in the region of 680 mph.Yungay’s 25,000 inhabitants stood little chance.
