SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - At least 42 people have been killed by flooding and mudslides in El Salvador due to heavy rains caused by Hurricane Ida, Interior Minister Humberto Centeno said in a press conference carried by national radio.

The government has declared a state of emergency in five of the Central American nation's departments and expects to find more victims as rescue workers move into harder hit areas, Centeno said.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria, writing by Robert Campbell, editing by Jackie Frank)