Panabaj, Guatemala, Oct. 8 (Reuters): Some 1,400 people were killed by a mudslide in the Guatemalan highland village of Panabaj that had been triggered by torrential rains from Hurricane Stan, a fire brigade spokesman said today.

“There are no survivors here. It happened more than 48 hours ago. They are dead,” spokesman Mario Cruz said. He said a landslide that engulfed the village on Wednesday had buried 1,400 people in the mud.

Large swathes of land in Central America and Mexico were flooded and dozens of mountain villages hit by mudslides after days of heavy rains from Stan.

Villagers and rescuers dug with spades in search of more victims in Panabaj but it was difficult to find bodies in the huge quagmire. They were considering abandoning the search and declaring the area a mass grave.