Guatemala ends search for victims of slide that killed 280

Guatemala City: Guatemalan authorities are calling off the search for victims buried under a massive landslide that killed at least 280 people near the Central American nation's capital.

Alejandro Maldonado is head of the National Disaster Reduction Commission. He says the agency's directors agreed unanimously that it was time to end the search and rescue operation, while work to stabilize and recover the disaster zone will continue.

Maldonado said today that 70 people are listed as missing due to the disaster.

The slide nearly two weeks ago unleashed at least 105 million cubic feet (3 million cubic meters) of earth on a neighborhood in Santa Catarina Pinula, on the eastern outskirts of Guatemala City.