Guatemalan mudslide kills 33, injures 15

updated 3:30 p.m. ET Jan. 5, 2009

GUATEMALA CITY - Rescuers pulled 33 bodies Monday from a massive landslide that covered a northern Guatemala highway, and rescue workers continued digging for more victims.

Guatemala's Vice President Rafael Espada said he feared the death toll could rise by at least a dozen more. At least 15 others were injured.

Authorities still do not know how many people were in the area when the landslide hit Sunday near the village of Aquil Grande as people were heading to a weekly market.

Road work along the highway could have triggered the slide, said Angel Estrada, the head of the rescue effort.

Many of the victims were laborers who were returning home after working on the road.

Two people were killed in a landslide along the same road two weeks ago.

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