Death toll in Guatemala slide reaches 280

The death toll from the mammoth landslide that buried a neighborhood on the outskirts of Guatemala's capital has risen to 280, the ABC News reported Wednesday.

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 October 1 slide unleashed at least 3 million cubic meters of earth on a neighborhood in Santa Catarina Pinula, on the outskirts of Guatemala City.

Source: MENA