Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala:
At least 56 people were killed in massive mudslides that buried scores of homes on the outskirts of Guatemala's capital city, officials said Saturday, amid fears the toll could climb sharply.
Julio Sanchez, a spokesman for firefighters who are leading the search for survivors, told reporters that several young children, including newborn babies, were among the dead in Santa Catarina Pinula.
Sanchez said 350 people were still missing, raising the prospect that the number of people who perished in the disaster could rise much higher.
The death toll has steadily risen in the day and a half since heavy rains triggered the mudslide.
Thursday night, waterlogged earth and debris tore through the village of El Cambray II, in the municipality of Santa Catarina Pinula, destroying or damaging 125 homes.
At dawn Saturday, rescue workers, police, soldiers and volunteers began a second day of clawing away at the debris with picks and shovels.
Two firefighters were injured later in the day when a wall collapsed as they were trying to extract a body from the rubble.
Nearby, relatives of the missing checked in at a makeshift morgue set up next to the buried homes.
Municipal authorities had urged the community, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) east of the capital Guatemala City, to relocate several times, most recently in November of last year.
"We can't live here any more," Carlos Hernandez, an electrician who survived the landslide lamented as he stepped between rescuers with his few remaining belongings on his shoulder.
'There was nothing'
The destruction had been sudden and decisive.
"I went on an errand for my mother and when I returned there was nothing," Carlos Ac, 17, told AFP. He was still waiting for word about his missing mother and seven siblings.
In gray denim trousers and a black coat -- now the only clothes he has -- Ac said his family had come from the city of Quetzaltenango, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the west of the capital, to sell tortillas.
Alex Lopez, 44, called his ex-wife and daughters as soon as he heard of the landslide. "It rang. But there was no answer," he told AFP.
Saturday, he was waiting for the body of his ex-wife and had already been given those of his two daughters, aged 21 and 22, and his two-year-old grandson.
Some authorities have said hundreds remain missing. Families have reported receiving text messages from people they believed to still be trapped.
The impact of the heavy rain was exacerbated by a nearby river, officials said.
Julio Sanchez, a spokesman for firefighters who are leading the search for survivors, told reporters that several young children, including newborn babies, were among the dead in Santa Catarina Pinula.
Sanchez said 350 people were still missing, raising the prospect that the number of people who perished in the disaster could rise much higher.
The death toll has steadily risen in the day and a half since heavy rains triggered the mudslide.
Thursday night, waterlogged earth and debris tore through the village of El Cambray II, in the municipality of Santa Catarina Pinula, destroying or damaging 125 homes.
At dawn Saturday, rescue workers, police, soldiers and volunteers began a second day of clawing away at the debris with picks and shovels.
Two firefighters were injured later in the day when a wall collapsed as they were trying to extract a body from the rubble.
Nearby, relatives of the missing checked in at a makeshift morgue set up next to the buried homes.
Municipal authorities had urged the community, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) east of the capital Guatemala City, to relocate several times, most recently in November of last year.
"We can't live here any more," Carlos Hernandez, an electrician who survived the landslide lamented as he stepped between rescuers with his few remaining belongings on his shoulder.
'There was nothing'
The destruction had been sudden and decisive.
"I went on an errand for my mother and when I returned there was nothing," Carlos Ac, 17, told AFP. He was still waiting for word about his missing mother and seven siblings.
In gray denim trousers and a black coat -- now the only clothes he has -- Ac said his family had come from the city of Quetzaltenango, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the west of the capital, to sell tortillas.
Alex Lopez, 44, called his ex-wife and daughters as soon as he heard of the landslide. "It rang. But there was no answer," he told AFP.
Saturday, he was waiting for the body of his ex-wife and had already been given those of his two daughters, aged 21 and 22, and his two-year-old grandson.
Some authorities have said hundreds remain missing. Families have reported receiving text messages from people they believed to still be trapped.
The impact of the heavy rain was exacerbated by a nearby river, officials said.
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