An estimated 600 missing and 30 dead after Guatemala landslide

At least 30 people have been killed and several hundred are still missing following a devastating landslide on the outskirts of the Guatemalan capital.

Rescue workers, police, soldiers and neighbors clawed away at the mud and debris searching for survivors all day Friday. Families reported receiving text messages from people they believed to still be trapped.

"We have 29 dead people identified, and one still unidentified," Sergio Cabanas, incident commander for the government's disaster reduction office CONRAD, told AFP.

The victims include at least three children.

Authorities said some 600 people are missing, an estimate based on the 125 homes Thursday's landslide destroyed or damaged.

The landslide was triggered by heavy rain late Thursday in the town of Santa Catarina Pinula and small village of El Cambray II, 15 kilometers east of Guatemala City.

Rescue workers pulled 35 people alive from the mud and rubble, while 25 others were injured, CONRAD officials said.

The impact of the heavy rain was worsened by a nearby river, officials said.

Municipal authorities had recommended the community relocate last year.

Eight people had already died in previous weather-related events tied to Guatemala's rainy season, which lasts from May to November, according to government data.

Last year's rainy season was tied to 29 deaths and damage to more than 9,000 homes.