Mexico storms: 139 dead, 53 still missing

The death toll from twin storms that battered Mexico has risen to 139 from 130 while 53 people remain missing after a mudslide buried their village, officials said Wednesday.

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said a further 35 people were injured in the landslides and floods that hit several states after tropical storms Ingrid and Manuel pummeled the country last week.

The biggest tragedy was in La Pintada, a village that was swamped by a massive mudslide in the mountains of southwestern Guerrero state.

Rescuers have been digging for victims for weeks in La Pintada, where 68 people were initially reported missing. Authorities said this week that five bodies have been pulled out so far but Osorio Chong did not give an update.

President Enrique Pena Nieto said last weekend there was little hope anybody would be found alive.

Pena Nieto presided over a cabinet meeting to review the disaster, which affected two-thirds of the country.

While the government is still evaluating the total cost of rebuilding lost infrastructure, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray said $48 million has been spent in immediate aid.

The National Weather Service, meanwhile, said the risk of a new tropical storm forming off the Pacific coast had diminished, though it still threatens to produce more rain in Guerrero.