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Hurricane death toll 250

PATULUL (GUATEMALA): There was a violent shudder and a roar, and then the side of a volcano gave way, burying two villages under a rush of mud and flood waters. Residents said at least 50 persons were killed in the landslip in Solola, a town close to the popular tourist destination of Lake Atitlan, that remained cut off from the outside world. It was thought to be the worst single incident in days of flooding that have killed 250 persons in southern Mexico and Central America. ``We've been pulling bodies out for two days and we've found 50 in an area encompassing 100-square meters,'' an official said via cellular phone from Santiago Atitlan, near where the mudslip occurred. ``There's still a lot to be done,'' he said. ``Because two towns have disappeared completely.'' He said police and soldiers had been unable to get to the area 100 km west of the capital, Guatemala City, and that ``we need food, clothing, medicine and help.'' He said the mudslip began on Wednesday morning, and that while most residents were able to evacuate, two villages were buried. — AP

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