A spokesman revealed Friday that the landslide that hit Guatemala Thursday evening has killed at least 26 people, an increase from the reported nine fatalities from before.
In addition to the 26 deaths, Alejandro Maldonado, head of Guatemalan disaster agency CONRED, told a news conference that as many as 600 could still be missing, according to The Telepgraph.
The landslide occurred when heavy rains loosened boulders, dirt and trees merged together to create a wave about 300 feet high, reported the New York Daily News. It continued to pick up speed until it engulfed dozens of homes in Santa Catarina Pinula on the southeastern flank of Guatemala City.
Soon after the incident occurred, hundreds of rescue workers dug through sludge and rock in order to find survivors, as well as remove the dead.
"I feel like I've lost my loved ones because all my neighbours died," said 35-year-old survivor Melina Hidalgo, according to Reuters.
She noted she was in the middle of washing clothes inside when she heard a loud crash and the lights went out, She went out to see the scene of a disaster, with crushed homes, felled electricity poles, and people crying as they looked for their children.
The government said that 600 people helped sift the rubble to pull out survivors, and authorities set up a shelter to help people who lost their homes in the landslide.
