WORLD> America
Costa Rican rescuers menaced by mudslides after quake
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-12 11:33

Parents of missing persons cry while waiting for news after an earthquake in San Miguel de Sarapiqui, 90 km (56 miles) north of San Jose, January 11, 2009. As rescue workers on Sunday combed through houses collapsed by last week's deadly earthquake, Costa Rican officials feared that unstable ground and daily rains could cause mudslides in the region. A Red Cross official put the death toll at 20, but the number could rise. [Agencies]

Houses in the jungle region teetered on the edges of cliffs created by the earthquake. In one area at risk of collapse, abandoned dogs guarded homes left by residents evacuated to shelters.

Colombia and the United States have sent military helicopters, rations, bottled water and electric generators to help the Costa Rican government, which does not have an army.

Hundreds of people stranded by blocked roads have been moved to shelters or evacuated by air to the capital San Jose.

Five British tourists who were unaccounted for have since been located and are safe, embassy official Ericka Phillips told Reuters.

"We have had no reports, of British or any other foreign nationality, of deaths, injuries or missing people," she said.

Costa Rica is a popular tourist destination because of its lush natural parks, volcanoes and rich wildlife, but it is prone to natural disasters like the rest of Central America.