Guatemala ends search for landslide victims

Guatemala ends search for landslide victims
Associated Press

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 | 6:52 p.m.

Guatemalan authorities on Tuesday called off the search for victims buried under a massive landslide that killed at least 280 people near the Central American nation's capital.

The National Disaster Reduction Commission decided it was time to end the search and rescue operation, while work to stabilize and recover the disaster zone will continue, agency chief Alejandro Maldonado said.

He said 70 people are listed as missing. The number has fluctuated in the nearly two weeks since the disaster as bodies were found and missing people were accounted for. Some 50 unidentified human remains will be subjected to DNA testing.

"The people are aware that the necessary time has been given to searching for cadavers," said Williams Mancilla, minister of national defense and a member of the disaster commission's board. "Now they have passed that phase and what interests them is the next one."

More:
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/oct/13/guatemala-ends-search-for-landslide-victims/