Dozens dead in Guatemala mudslides

COLOMBA, Guatemala, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Heavy rains that triggered massive mudslides were blamed for at least 36 deaths in Guatemala during the weekend with dozens more missing, officials said Sunday.

Britain's Sky News reported at least 36 people had been confirmed killed in mudslides and flooding since Saturday.

In addition, several dozen people trying to dig out victims of an earlier mudslide that buried a bus were themselves buried by a second slide, Sky News said.

"A wall of earth fell on a bus and around 100 local people organised themselves to dig out the victims," fire department spokesman Sergio Vasquez said.

"Then another landslide came along and buried them."

The Latin American Herald Tribune reported at least 40 people and perhaps more than 100 were caught in the second slide.

A fire department spokesman told the Tribune 15 people were pulled alive from the mud and rubble.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a national emergency, calling the disaster a "national tragedy."

Officials said 40,000 people were left homeless and another 10,000 had been evacuated because of the meteorological mess.

The Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre reported that besides those killed in the massive landslides on the Pan-American Highway, four members of a family were killed in a landslide in Colomba, another person died in the village of Pamaxan, a body was found in a river in the village Escutcheon, a woman was killed when a slide hit her home in Jocotenango and two more people killed when their vehicles were buried by other slides, the newspaper said.