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2008-07-21 MEXICO CITY, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-one people were confirmed killed Sunday in landslides triggered by heavy rains in a rural community in eastern Guatemala, local media reported.
According to information reaching here from Guatemala City, landslides brought down tons of mud and rocks on a village near LaUnion city in Zacapa province, burying at least 21 people. Among the dead were 12 from the same family who were trapped inside their house by the landslide, said La Union Mayor Francisco Salguero. Rescue teams had not been able to reach the accident site till midday on Sunday, Salguero told a local radio station. Downpours in the previous weeks have led to many landslides, destroying houses, bridges and highways, including one leading to the La Union village, he said. Several families have been evacuated to safe places including provisional shelters set up by the government. The city of La Union, which borders Honduras and is located some 220 km northeast of Guatemala City, has a population of 25,000 and is one of the poorest areas in the central American country. Persistent rains since June across large swathes of Guatemala have caused a 'yellow' alert in the country, where 78 people have died in various disasters triggered by heavy rains since the beginning of the year.
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