PATULUL, Guatemala - There was a violent shudder and a roar, then the side of a volcano gave way, burying two villages under a rush of mud and floodwaters.

Residents said at least 50 people were killed in the landslide in Solola, a town close to the popular tourist destination of Lake Atitlan, that remained cut off from the outside world. It was the deadliest of the floods that have killed 250 people in Central America and southern Mexico.

"We've been pulling bodies out for two days and we've found 50 in an area encompassing 1,075 square feet, Lucas Ajpus, a former firefighter coordinating rescue efforts, said via cell phone from Santiago Atitlan, near where the mudslide occurred.

"There's still a lot to be done because two towns have disappeared completely," he said.

Ajpus said police and soldiers had been unable to get to the area 60 miles west of the capital, Guatemala City.

"We need food, clothing, medicine and help," he said.

The mudslide began Wednesday morning, and while most residents were able to evacuate, two villages were buried.

"You look at these people who have very little and they've lost everything," said 32-year-old Stephanie Jolluck, a businesswoman from Atlanta who has traveled to Guatemala for work since 1999.

Reached by phone in Panajachel, on the banks of Lake Atitlan, Jolluck fought back tears as she said rivers that were "six feet wide turned to 50 feet wide."

"Water is running out, food is running out and looters are coming now," she said.