Military dig through mud in the hope of finding survivors from the recent landslides

(21 Sep 2013) Villagers and soldiers have been using axes to chip away at tons of mud and dirt from a landslide that swept through a remote village in southern Mexico. Tropical Storm Manuel triggered the disaster in La Pintada on Monday. According to survivors, a tidal wave of dirt, rocks and trees swept through the centre of the village - burying families in their homes and sweeping wooden houses into the bed of a swollen river that winds past on its way to the Pacific. Sixty-eight people in the village of about 800 remained missing early Friday, with most presumed dead. Two bodies have been recovered, but it was unclear if they were among those on the list of missing. La Pintada was the scene of the single greatest tragedy in the twin paths of destruction wreaked by Manuel and Hurricane Ingrid, which simultaneously pounded both of Mexico's coasts over the weekend - spawning huge floods and landslides across hundreds of miles of coastal and inland areas. La Pintada is located north of Acapulco, the resort city that belongs to the southern state of Guerrero, which has been the most affected by the rains. Manuel gained hurricane force and rolled into the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa on Thursday morning before starting to weaken, falling again to tropical storm strength. Sinaloa civil protection authorities said some areas flooded and more than 2,000 people were evacuated, many from small fishing villages on the coast. Some of the evacuees stayed at a temporary shelter at the University of Sinaloa in Culiacan. "Our blankets got soaked, everything got soaked, the clothes. Everything. We couldn't salvage anything," said one displaced woman. According to official figures, both storms have killed at least 97 people across the country. But it was certain to rise because the figure also does not include the missing in La Pintada. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...