Severe flooding in Ecuador has now claimed the lives of 12 people after five more were killed Friday, Ecuadorian media reported citing the authorities, according to DPA. The latest five dead were travelling in an ambulance near Guayaquil when they slipped off the road and into the water. With the rainiest winter in Ecuador in at least 20 years, the country's government declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. The declaration opens the door for funds to address the damage. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has called for foreign assistance. Tens of thousands of people have lost property in floods and mudslides, and there has also been damage to infrastructure and agriculture, authorities said. More and more people are getting sick with the dangerous dengue fever, a virus transmitted by a mosquito that thrives particularly in flooded areas. Health authorities have reported some 1,000 cases of dengue.