27 dead, dozens missing in Guatemala landslides

A state of emergency has been declared in Guatemala where weekend landslides have killed at least 27 people and officials fear dozens more could be entombed in mud.

Rescuers yesterday dug nine bodies out of a 300-metre-deep ravine off the main Pan-American Highway, west of the capital Guatemala City.

Fire service spokesman Cecilio Chacaj said some 40 people had been swept away by a second torrent of mud as they tried to help the occupants of five vehicles and a bus hit by the initial landslide.

“Top priority at present is dealing with this emergency,” President Alvaro Colom said as he toured the devastation and put the damage, in one of the poorest countries in the Americas, at up to $500 million.

Ten people were killed in a separate incident on Saturday when a second bus on the main highway was buried near the town of Chimaltenango. Rescuers managed to unearth 20 survivors.