Nine dead, up to 600 missing in Guatemala mudslide: authorities

[Judi Lynn]

Fri Oct 2, 2015 10:22pm BST

Nine dead, up to 600 missing in Guatemala mudslide: authorities

GUATEMALA CITY

- video -


A mudslide in Guatemala has killed at least nine people and up to 600 remain missing, emergency services said on Friday, as hundreds of rescue workers dug through sludge and rock on the outskirts of the capital city to find survivors.

Heavy rains swept a torrent of boulders and mud over dozens of homes on Thursday night in Santa Catarina Pinula on the southeastern flank of Guatemala City.

(Reporting By Enrique Pretel)

More:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/10/02/us-guatemala-mudslide-idUKKCN0RW1Q620151002?rpc=401

[Judi Lynn]

1. Guatemala mudslide death toll reaches 56, more feared dead

Oct 3, 4:48 PM EDT

Guatemala mudslide death toll reaches 56, more feared dead

SONIA PEREZ D.
Associated Press

ANTA CATARINA PINULA, Guatemala (AP) -- A Guatemalan emergency official says the number of people killed when a hillside collapsed on a group of homes has risen to 56.

Julio Sanchez says that besides the dead, officials estimate that 350 people remain missing. Sanchez is a spokesman for Guatemala's volunteer firefighters.
The previous death toll was 30 and estimates of the number of missing had been as high as 600.

Rescue specialists from the Red Cross and fire and police departments were using dogs to search for possible survivors in the mudslide zone on the outskirts of Guatemala City, where tons of earth fell over some 125 homes, authorities from the region estimate.

After suspending work Friday evening, search efforts resumed at dawn on Saturday

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_GUATEMALA_MUDSLIDE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-10-03-16-48-38

(Short article, no more at link.)