GUATEMALA: International aid begins arriving to flood ravaged regions of Central America, with firefighters from Spain in Guatemala to assist in search and rescue

Record ID: 375723

  • Title: GUATEMALA: International aid begins arriving to flood ravaged regions of Central America, with firefighters from Spain in Guatemala to assist in search and rescue
  • Date: 11th October 2005
  • Summary: (BN12) PANABAJ, GUATEMALA (OCTOBER 9, 2005) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT PANABAJ WIDE SHOT SQUAD OF SPANISH FIREFIGHTERS WALKING THROUGH AREA; SPANISH FIREFIGHTER WITH CANINE UNIT; FIREFIGHTER; CANINE UNIT SEARCHING FOR BODIES; GENERAL VIEW OF SPANISH FIREFIGHTERS IN THE AREA; CANINE UNIT BARKING; GENERAL VIEW OF CANINE UNIT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COORDINATOR FOR THE SQUAD OF SP
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Guatemala
  • Country: Guatemala
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA2ERJ40JOK43WC0PACGQCBXUQJ
  • Story Text: Aid trickled into a Guatemalan village devastated by a mudslide that killed some 1,400 people, and Maya Indian residents complained on Sunday that the government was far too slow to react to the tragedy.
    Peasants from neighbouring villages brought clothing for the victims, rowing canoes across Lake Atitlan to Panabaj. The village was buried under a deadly slick of mud, rocks and trees that slid down a volcano after rains from Hurricane Stan.
    A federal deputy from western Guatemala said 300 people had died in another mudslide in the town of Tacana, near the Mexican border, but that could not be confirmed.
    In Panabaj, Spanish firemen arrived on Sunday (October 9) to look for bodies under a quagmire that is up to 40 feet (12 metres) deep in places and Guatemalan soldiers brought water in a truck.
    But government help was little and late, local officials said. They were angry that President Oscar Berger had not visited the village four days after one of Latin America's biggest tragedies of recent years struck.
    Stan's rains triggered the mudslide as Panabaj's residents slept early on Wednesday (October 5). Mud-covered roads prevented rescuers from reaching the site for two days.
    No senior government official went to the village and the mayor said racism against the Mayas might be to blame.
    Rescuers with hand tools struggled to find bodies in the brown grunge covering Panabaj and local officials said it would likely be left as a mass grave.
    Firefighters poked long poles into the mud in search of victims but feared sinking into the quagmire themselves.
    The fire department put the death toll at around 1,400 villagers and Esquina said between 1,000 and 1,500 had died. Only 76 bodies have been found.
    The storm killed some 300 people elsewhere in Guatemala and 103 others in the rest of Central America and southern Mexico. Guatemalan newspaper reports said about 2,000 were missing in San Marcos.
    Pope Benedict offered condolences for the hurricane victims during his weekly blessing in St. Peter's Square. "I ask the Lord for the eternal rest of the dead," he said.
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