Share

Guatemala mudslide: Searchers find dead huddled together

Santa Catarina Pinula - Beneath the mud and rock that engulfed the small Guatemalan town of Santa Catarina Pinula last week, search crews have found entire families who died huddled together after they were buried alive.

At least 132 people were killed in Thursday's disaster just outside Guatemala City, and emergency services chief Alejandro Maldonado said on Monday at least 300 people were still unaccounted for.

The Guatemalan Red Cross made an appeal on Twitter for dry ice at its provisional morgue in the town.

The mud that engulfed the El Cambray II neighbourhood in Santa Catarina Pinula, which is located at the bottom of a deep ravine ringed by trees, is so deep that rescue workers are descending 12m through narrow shafts to reach the roofs of homes.

"We've found entire families," said Sergio Cabanas, an official at disaster agency Conred. "We found almost all of them huddled together, which means that they were going to try and evacuate but sadly they didn't have time."

"Some died from the impact, some from asphyxiation and some, from heart attacks," he added.

Rescue efforts have been complicated by the precarious situation at the site, said Cabanas. There were two smaller landslides on Monday. A nearby river has risen by a meter, and rescue workers fear for the stability of the mountain peak where the landslide began.

So far, no survivors have been found at the site, and rescue workers say the chances of finding anyone alive under the 120 000 tons of earth that buried the area are close to zero.

But the emergency services vowed to keep up the search.

"Our determination to continue is firm. We're not going to stop until we finish the job. The objective is that nobody is left buried at the site," Maldonado told a press conference.

Guatemala's government, which is in disarray after former President Otto Perez was forced to resign and was arrested on corruption charges last month, declared three days of mourning for those lost in the landslide.

It has vowed to relocate those still living in nearby risky areas to avoid a repeat disaster.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 485 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 693 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.92
+0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.88
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.1%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE