Calm has returned to the Guatemala City neighborhood of San Antonio after a major landslide killed three people and triggered the evacuation of hundreds of local residents, according to news on Sunday.

Benedicto Giron, a spokesman for the country's Disaster Reduction Network (Conred) told the media that it had regained control of the area, and is working hard to guarantee the residents' security.

The landslide occurred suddenly on Thursday night and lasted till Friday morning, striking a 50-meter-diameter, 75-meter-deep hole in the ground and damaging about 200 nearby homes. People made homeless by the landslide were sheltered in five temporary tents set up by Conred, Giron said.

The number of casualties was unlikely to rise, the spokesman added.

Guatemala City's Social Development Department told the media that the municipal drains had caused the disaster. Leaks in the city's pipes had created other exits for the city's sewage, eroding a massive cavern under a certain part of the city. Eventually the roof of the cavern gave way, causing a landslide inside the city.

Director of Conred Hugo Hernandez described the area as "highly risky" and "uninhabitable."

Source: Xinhua