Queen ‘deeply saddened’ at loss of life following Hurricane Eta

The Queen has sent her condolences to those affected by “the tragic loss of life and destruction” caused by Hurricane Eta.

The Queen said, in her message to heads of state in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, that she was deeply saddened by events.

The hurricane has left many dead and more than 100 missing in Mexico and Central America.

The Queen’s message read: “Prince Philip and I were deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and destruction caused by Hurricane Eta.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured or lost their lives, and all those whose homes and livelihoods have been affected.”

Authorities in Guatemala on Sunday raised the known death toll there to 27 from 15, and said more than 100 were missing, many of them in the landslide in San Cristobal Verapaz.

Rivers overflowed and coastal zones were flooded in Cuba, where 25,000 had been evacuated, but there were no reports of deaths.

Officials in Honduras reported 21 dead, though the national disaster agency had confirmed only eight.

Eta initially hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, and authorities from Panama to Mexico were still surveying the damage following days of torrential rains during the week.

In Guatemala, search teams first had to overcome multiple landslides and deep mud just to reach the site, where officials have estimated some 150 homes were devastated.

In southern Mexico, across the border from Guatemala, 20 people died as heavy rains attributed to Eta caused mudslides, and streams and rivers overflowed.