GUATEMALA CITY _ At least 300 people were still missing in a mudslide on the outskirts of Guatemala City Sunday as rescuers pulled more bodies from the muck and rubble Sunday.
The death toll reached 107 with the recovering of the remains of more than 20 more victims Sunday before rescue work was stopped because of continuing rain, which raised the risk of further mudslides.
Rescue crews and residents were searching for survivors in the residential area of Santa Carina Pinula, with around 1,800 rescuers and volunteers were at work in the effort.
Authorities fear the toll from the disaster will soar over time. Finding survivors becomes highly unlikely within 72 hours after a mudslide, though Guatemalan President Alejandro Maldonado ordered rescue efforts to continue as soon as conditions allow.
Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the disaster in front of a crowd of thousands on St. Peter's Square in Rome.
"We are close to the severely affected population, also with concrete solidarity," the pope said.
"May God have mercy on the dead, grant healing to the injured, comfort loved ones and give the rescue workers strength," Guatemalan President Alejandro Maldonado wrote on Twitter.
The mudslide, which buried about 125 homes, occurred Friday after days of rain. Witnesses said the steep hillside broke in two and fell onto the houses in the suburb, inhabited mostly by poor families.