A federal deputy from western Guatemala said 300 people had died in another mudslide in the town of Tacana, near the Mexican border, but that could not be confirmed.

In Panabaj, Spanish firemen arrived to look for bodies under a quagmire that is up to 40 feet (12 meters) deep in places and Guatemalan soldiers brought water in a truck.

But government help was little and late, local officials said. They were angry that President Oscar Berger had not visited the village four days after one of Latin America's biggest tragedies of recent years struck.

"I feel totally sad, morale is very low. We want to see the president, we want to see him here," said Diego Esquina, mayor of Santiago Atitlan municipality, which runs Panabaj.

Stan's rains triggered the mudslide as Panabaj's residents slept early on Wednesday. Mud-covered roads prevented rescuers from reaching the site for two days.

No senior government official went to the village and the mayor said racism against the Mayas might be to blame.

"It's like they are giving a message that it is because we are indigenous. That is the point. A lot of my people are saying it is because we are indigenous," Esquina said.

Santiago Atitlan was a hot spot during Guatemala's 36-year civil war, which ended in 1996. Years of abuses by soldiers helped leftist rebels recruit Indians in the town and tensions peaked in 1990 when drunken soldiers killed 13 locals.

BEAN SUPPLIES

A supply of beans, rice and pasta sent by the capital's city hall was handed out but peasants said the federal government was negligent.

"The government didn't send anything here. There is nothing," said Francisco Boron, 43, dressed in traditional calf-length white pants and carrying a machete.

Rescuers with hand tools struggled to find bodies in the brown grunge covering Panabaj and local officials said it would likely be left as a mass grave.

Firefighters poked long poles into the mud in search of victims but feared sinking into the quagmire themselves.

"It is very difficult. Most of the people are where the mud is thickest and we haven't been able to work there because of the danger," said firefighter Max Chiquito.

The fire department put the death toll at around 1,400 villagers and Esquina said between 1,000 and 1,500 had died. Only 76 bodies have been found.

The storm killed some 300 people elsewhere in Guatemala and 103 others in the rest of Central America and southern Mexico.

Julio Cesar Lopez, an opposition deputy from the western department of Huehuetenango, told Reuters some 300 people died on Thursday when a mudslide hit the town of Tacana, in the neighboring San Marcos region.

"I am in telephone contact with Tacana. People were using two churches as shelters but the hill fell down on top of them," said Lopez, of the Guatemalan Republican Front party.

Guatemalan newspaper reports said about 2,000 were missing in San Marcos and Defense Minister Carlos Aldana told Reuters the armed forces were trying to reach the stricken area.

"San Marcos is the place where, from today, we are giving most importance because it has not been dealt with at all due to the weather conditions and the road access." he said.

Southern Mexico was reeling from floods and the government said it would spend 20 billion pesos ($1.85 billion) in emergency aid for victims to reconstruct stricken states.

"We are going to support everyone to recover their goods and rebuild their homes that were destroyed, to compensate agricultural producers for the loss of crops, and in finance plans for businesses," President Vicente Fox said.