The death toll in the mudslide in a southern California mountain community reached 14, while two others were still missing, US authorities said on Monday.  

Five more bodies were recovered from a church camp at the Waterman Canyon in San Bernardino County, which was struck by a massive mudslide on Christmas Day.

A total of 12 bodies were found at the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox camp, while two others were recovered in another mudslide at a nearby trailer campground.

The bodies of camp caretaker Jorge Monzon, 41, and his wife, Clara, 40, were found Sunday, according to the San Bernardino County coroner's office. Monzon's daughters, Wendy, 17, and Raquel, 9, had been reported dead earlier.

The bodies of Morzon and his wife as well as another woman were found closer to the camp in the San Bernardino Mountains. It took a bulldozer and other heavy equipment to find those bodies in deep mud.

Two children washed away from the St. Sophia Camp were found tangled in debris more than four miles below, in a cement catch basin in downtown San Bernardino.

With the passage of time, the hope for finding the two people still missing faded, said Chip Patterson, spokesman for the San Bernardino County sheriff's department. "We may never find everyone."

The two still missing included Morzon's baby son and a teenage boy, who were gathering at the camp with their families to celebrate Christmas. The families are mostly immigrants from Guatemala.

Fourteen people have already been rescued from the church camp after the mudslide.

As weather forecast warned about more rain to come in the next two days, authorities have urged residents in the mountain communities to brace for more possible mudslide and flooding.

The area that was hit by the mudslide was devastated by a wildfire last October, destroying the vegetation that protects the soil.

San Bernardino police spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said fire stations were handing out sandbags but supplies were quickly diminishing. "We need to make sure folks realize that. Now is the time to prepare," Martinez said. 

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2003)