MEXICO CITY, Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The Guatemalan government said Saturday that the death toll in Tropical Storm Stan has increased to 508, while 1,400 others remain missing after mudslides triggered by rains buried their towns, reports from Guatemala said.

Volunteers prepare to search for the victims of a deadly mudslide near the village of Panabaj, Guatemala Oct. 8. (Reuters) Click for more photos

    According to the latest report of the Guatemalan National Disaster Reduction Coordination, Stan claimed at least 508 lives, and destroyed 5,100 houses in the country. About 178,000 people have fallen victim to the storm.

    In the towns of Panajab and Tzanchaj, some 190 km west of Guatemala City, 1,400 people disappeared after mudslides swept out the residential areas in the early hours of Wednesday, said Fire Department spokesman Mario Cruz.

    There are no survivors as the mudslides occurred more than two days ago, said Cruz.

    About 2,100 out of a total of 4,000 inhabitants in the towns escaped to safety places hours before the mudslides destroyed the towns, the Fire Department said.

Guatemalan rescue workers carry the body of a mudslide victim in Guatemala Oct. 8. (Reuters)

    Rescuer workers, survivors and volunteers have recovered dozens of bodies on the site but officials said Saturday that they might give up search and declare the town a mass grave as so many victims are feared buried in up to 12 meters of mud.

    Guatemalan President Oscar Berger, who has cancelled a trip to Spain for the 14th Ibero-American Summit because of the disaster, said earlier that the number of the dead and missing in his country was still unknown but the likely toll on human lives was "very alarming."

    Guatemala, which declared a state of "public disaster" on Wednesday after Stan caused huge damage in the nation, is the worst-hit country in the region.

    Meanwhile, flash floods and mudslides triggered by the tropical storm killed 70 in El Salvador, 28 in Mexico and 11 in Nicaragua, reports said. Enditem