69 dead and 350 missing after Guatemala City landslide

Rescue workers using shovels and pickaxes recovered more bodies from the rubble of a collapsed hillside on the outskirts of Guatemala City as the death toll rose to 69, with another 350 people believed missing.

Julio Sanchez, spokesman for Guatemala’s volunteer firefighters, said the death toll will probably continue to rise as emergency crews dig through tons of earth that buried some 125 homes on Thursday night.

Earlier estimates had said that 600 people could be missing. Despite the passing time, emergency services co-ordinator Sergio Cabanas said rescuers “still have hope of finding people alive if we just keep searching”.