At least 34 people died when a landslide buried a bus in northwestern Colombia on Sunday, the government disaster agency said on Monday.

Iran PressAmerica: The rainy season that began in August is Colombia's worst in 40 years, causing a series of accidents that have already left more than 270 people dead.

The landslide, caused by heavy rain, hit the bus on the road between the villages of Pueblo Rico and Santa Cecilia in Risaralda province - about 230 km (140 miles) northwest of the capital Bogota - the national agency for managing risks and disasters (UNGRD) said in a statement.

"We have already found 33 people dead, including three minors, and we have rescued nine people alive, four of them are in critical condition," Interior Minister Alfonso Prada told reporters on Monday.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro described the incident as a tragedy in a Twitter message.

The bus was traveling from Cali, Colombia's third largest city, to the municipality of Condoto, in Choco province. Civil defence officials said it was carrying at least 25 passengers. 219