Guatemala Reports 60 More Deaths; Storm Toll at 246

Rescuers pulled at least 40 bodies from a landslide in Guatemala and found 20 more in a swollen river Thursday, as the death toll from five days of heavy rain in Central America and Mexico jumped to 246.

Crews unearthed 40 bodies in Solola, a town near Lake Atitlan, about 50 miles west of the capital, Guatemala City. As many as 150 people are feared to be still buried at the site.

“The landslide was Wednesday, but because the roads are blocked, no one can get through to help us,” said Pedro Mendoza, 25, an area resident.

Along the country’s Pacific Coast, the Nahualate River spilled over its banks, creating a new outlet to the sea and killing at least 20 people in a village, navy officials said.

Five days of heavy weather accompanied Hurricane Stan, which made landfall Tuesday. The death toll includes 14 people killed each in Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica, 13 who died in Mexico and 65 in El Salvador.

President Oscar Berger said 134 people had been killed in Guatemala. Emergency officials said the tally did not include those killed by the Nahualate, meaning the nation’s total had climbed to at least 154.