Guatemala City, October 3 (RHC-NNN) -- At least 29 people have died and 600 are missing following a landslide which destroyed about 125 homes on the outskirts of the Guatemalan capital, officials said late Friday.

"We have 29 people confirmed dead and one still not confirmed," said Sergio Cabanas, the incident commander of Guatemala's National Disaster Mitigation Co-ordination (CONRED) unit.

CONRED announced earlier Friday that the number of missing might reach up to 600, based on estimates of destroyed houses. Local families have estimated that about 20 families, or around 100 people, are missing.

The landslide occurred on Thursday night following heavy rains in the El Cambray II neighbourhood of the town of Santa Catarina Pinula, 15 km south of the capital, according to the Prensa Libre newspaper.
Hundreds of rescue workers dug through sludge and rocks to find survivors. Thirty-six people had been pulled out from the mud and debris and rushed to hospital.