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Hundreds feared missing in Guatemala landslide
01:50 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

NEW: The death toll rises to 186, according to Guatemala's government

Many more are still missing, the public ministry said

The side of a hill crashed down on a village, engulfing homes

CNN  — 

The gangly arms of four backhoes dug through a mound of sandy soil that had buried many of the residents of El Cambray alive in a landslide.

By Tuesday night, rescuers had recovered the bodies of 186 people in El Cambray, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of Guatemala City, Guatemala’s public ministry tweeted.

Many more people are still missing.

Heavy rains triggered the mudslide in El Cambray on Thursday evening. The side of a towering hill broke loose suddenly and crashed down on the village.

Since then, residents and rescuers have shoveled and even burrowed with their hands in search of the hundreds of victims the public ministry estimates were inside the dozens of homes that were instantly engulfed by the landslide.

On Tuesday, the Red Cross asked for donations of dry ice for its makeshift morgue, where the bodies kept coming.

CNN’s Ben Brumfield, Richard Beltran, Greg Botelho and Nelson Quinones contributed to this report.