Landslide kills eight in eastern Mexico

At least eight people have been killed after mud and sand slid off the side of a hill in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz following days of heavy rain, authorities say.

The landslide occurred late on Monday in the town of Manzanastitla, engulfing two homes located in the mountainous area about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Mexico City.

Officials said two people had been rescued alive from the buried houses. Three children were among the victims.

According to locals, 14 people were in the two homes at the time of the incident. The state government said rescuers were still working in the area.

Another minor was killed in the municipality of Tierra Blanca on Monday after he was swept away by an overflowed river, said local Civil Protection Director Salvador Cruz Garcia.

Heavy rains have been falling across southeastern and central Mexico in recent days. The state’s secretary of civil protection has not yet released the names of the victims.

Last month, 13 people were killed in Veracruz after Tropical Storm Fernand caused landslides and flooding.

On May 28, seven people died in a landslide on a road in Mexico’s central state of Hidalgo. Officials said the hailstorm in Tepeji del Rio caused the deadly landslide.