Fuego spewed a five-mile stream of lava, burying dozens of communities and raining smoke and ash on other regions

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This article is more than 1 year old

At least 62 people, including three children, have been killed and nearly 300 injured in the most violent eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano in more than four decades, officials said.

Fuego, whose name means “fire”, spewed an 8km (five-mile) stream of lava and belched a thick plume of black smoke and ash that rained on to the capital and other regions.

Dozens of communities on the southern slopes of Fuego were buried in a searing mix of mud, ash and rocks as the explosions continued for over 16 hours.

Fresh lava flows hampered search and rescue efforts on Monday, forcing emergency services to withdraw from the area. Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for.

Speaking on Monday, the head of Guatemala’s National Forensic Sciences Institute said 62 people had died, , but only 13 had been identified so far because the bodies were so badly disfigured by flows that reached temperatures as high as 1,300F (700C).

“We’re having a lot of trouble identifying them because some of the dead lost their features or their fingerprints. We’re going to have to use other anthropological methods and if possible take DNA samples to identify them.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A policeman carries an elderly evacuee in Alotenango, 55 km southwest of Guatemala City Photograph: Orlando Estrada/AFP/Getty Images

Mario Cruz, spokesman for the volunteer firefighter corps, said 3,100 people had evacuated the area on Sunday. Around 1,400 people spent the night in makeshift shelters set up in schools and government buildings.

President Jimmy Morales convened his ministers late on Sunday evening and declared a state of emergency in the departments of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez.

The speed and force of the pyroclastic flows – fast-moving mixtures of gas and volcanic matter – triggered deadly mudslides in the surrounding areas. The majority of confirmed victims so far were from San Miguel Los Lotes, El Rodeo, or Escuintla who died after homes were collapsed by a powerful torrent of lava and mud.

Play Video 1:01 Death toll climbs after Fuego volcano erupts in Guatemala – video report

At least two of the deceased were killed after they stopped to watch the unfolding disaster, according to the national coordinator for disaster reduction.

Rescuers in helicopters managed to pull at least 10 people alive from ash drifts and mud flows that were up to the rooflines of some homes, forcing first responders to use sledgehammers to break through the roofs to see if anyone was trapped inside.

Initial rescue efforts had been led by volunteer fire fighters on Sunday afternoon as lava began flowing down the mountain’s flank and across homes and roads.



Dramatic images showed a fast-moving current of pyroclastic material and slurry, slamming into homes and bridges in and around the towns of Sacatepéquez and Escuintla, which were left charred.

It is the second time the volcano has erupted this year, setting off loud explosions and spewing ash into the sky. Ash blanketed cars and houses in the nearby villages of San Pedro Yepocapa and Sangre de Cristo.



Lesser amounts of ash fell on Guatemala City, which is 44km (27 miles) from the volcano. The capital’s La Aurora international airport shut down its only runway.

Workers and guests were evacuated from the La Reunion golf club. A video circulating on social media showed a black cloud of ash rising from just beyond the golf club.

The huge plumes of smoke that could be seen from various parts of the country and the ash that rained down in four of Guatemala’s departments caused some alarm among residents.

“It is important to remain calm because the Fuego volcano erupts throughout the year,” said David de Leon, spokesman for the National Disaster Prevention Authority.

De Leon said a change in wind was to blame for the volcanic ash falling on parts of the city.

Eddy Sanchez, the director of Guatemala’s seismological, volcanic and meteorological institute, warned of the danger of mud flows, saying: “Temperatures in the pyroclastic flow can exceed 700 degrees [Celsius] and volcanic ash can rain down on a 15km (nine-mile) radius. That could cause more mud flows and nearby rivers to burst their banks.”

Domingo López, who escaped with burns on his feet, told local newspaper Prensa Libre that his community was covered in molten ash. “I cannot believe this, it’s never been so bad,” he said from a shelter.

An estimated 1.7 million people – just over 10% of the population – are at risk from ash, toxic gases and waste emanating from the eruption.

The government has declared three days of mourning.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report

</s>GUATEMALA CITY -- The death toll is mounting after an explosive eruption of one of Central America's most active volcanoes. Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego, Spanish for "volcano of fire," exploded shortly before noon on Sunday, blasting ash and molten rock high into the air. Hours later, around 4 p.m., lava began flowing down the side of the mountain.

Guatemala's disaster agency said early Monday that at least 25 people had been killed as a towering cloud of smoke blanketed nearby villages in heavy ash and pyroclastic flows inundated villages below the volcano. An undetermined number of people were missing and authorities feared the death toll could rise.

Eddy Sanchez, director of the country's seismology and volcanology institute, said the lava flows reached temperatures of about 1,300 degrees. Firefighters said they were forced to call off rescue efforts until later on Monday morning over safety concerns.

Video broadcast by Sacatepezuez television showed a charred landscape where a lava flow came into contact with homes. Three bodies lay partially buried in ash and debris from the volcano, which is about 27 miles from the capital, Guatemala City.

A volunteer firefighter carries a child after the eruption of the Fuego Volcano, in El Rodeo village, Escuintla department, south of Guatemala City, June 3, 2018. Getty

"Not everyone was able to get out. I think they ended up buried," Consuelo Hernandez, a resident of the village of El Rodeo, told the newspaper Diario de Centroamerica. "Where we saw the lava fall, we ran to a hillside" to escape, she added.

Hundreds of rescue workers, including firefighters, police and soldiers worked to recover bodies from the still-smoking lava.

Firefighters said they had seen some people who were trapped, but roads leading to the area were cut by pyroclastic flows and they had been unable to reach it. In darkness and rain, the rescue effort was ordered suspended until early morning, municipal firefighters spokesman Cecilio Chacaj said.

Fuego volcano is pictured after it erupted violently, in San Juan Alotenango, Guatemala, on Sun., June 3, 2018. Reuters

National Disaster Coordinator Sergio Cabanas said seven people were confirmed dead and an unknown number were unaccounted for.

Among the fatalities were four people, including a disaster agency official, killed when lava set a house on fire in El Rodeo village, Cabanas said. Two children were burned to death as they watched the volcano's second eruption this year from a bridge, he added.

Another victim was found in the streets of El Rodeo by volunteer firefighters, but the person died in an ambulance.

At an ad-hoc morgue in the town of Alotenango, at least three bodies lay covered with blue sheets.

A man cleans ashes from the Volcan de Fuego off his car in Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepequez department, southwest of Guatemala City on Sun., June 3, 2018. Getty

Guatemala's disaster agency said 3,100 people had evacuated nearby communities, and ash fall from the eruption was affecting an area with a population of about 1.7 million of the country's 15 million or so people. Shelters were opened for those forced to flee.

"Currently the volcano continues to erupt and there exists a high potential for (pyroclastic) avalanches of debris," the disaster agency said via Twitter, quoting Sanchez, the director of the seismology and volcanology institute.

It added that he said authorities began to send bulletins on the situation starting at 11:30 a.m.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said he would issue a declaration of a state of emergency to be approved by Congress and urged people to heed warnings from emergency officials.

Volcan de Fuego Guatemala Government via BBC News

Ash was falling on the Guatemala City area as well as the departments of Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango and Escuintla, which are in south-central Guatemala around the volcano. Streets and houses were covered in the colonial town of Antigua, a popular tourist destination.

Aviation authorities closed the capital's international airport because of the danger posed to planes by the ash.

BBC News reports officials advised residents to wear masks as ash fell. The news outlet also said the Guatemalan military was providing help which includes clearing volcanic ash from La Aurora airport's runway.

The conical Volcan de Fuego reaches an altitude of 12,346 feet above sea level at its peak.</s>At least 62 people were killed when a volcano erupted in Guatemala, sending lava flowing into villages and leaving homes and roads blanketed with ash.

The Fuego Volcano, as seen from Los Lotes, Rodeo, erupts in Escuintla, south of Guatemala City on on June 4, 2018. Emergency workers will resume the search on Monday for Guatemalans missing after the eruption of the Fuego volcano, which belched out clouds of ash and flows of lava and left at least 25 people dead. / AFP PHOTO / Johan ORDONEZJOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: AFP_15L730

Authorities fear the death toll could rise further because many people are unaccounted for. President Jimmy Morales has announced three days of mourning.

Volcán de Fuego (Volcano of fire) — one of the most active volcanoes in Central America — is located about 27 miles from Guatemala City.

National Disaster Management Agency chief Sergio Cabañas told local radio that a lava stream changed course to head toward the village of El Rodeo, the BBC reported.

"Unfortunately El Rodeo was buried, and we haven't been able to reach the La Libertad village because of the lava, and maybe there are people that died there, too," he said.

More than 3,100 people evacuated nearby communities, and the eruption was affecting an area with a population of about 1.7 million people. Shelters were opened for those forced to flee.

Guatemala City’s international airport reopened Monday after it was closed by falling ash from the eruption.

Hundreds of rescue workers were helping survivors and recovering bodies from the lava, while some areas were inaccessible as roads were cut off by the flow. Some firefighters were pictured weeping as they left the scene of the destruction.

Relatives mourn as volunteers carry a coffin with the body of Sergio Vasquez who died following the eruption of Fuego volcano on June 3, 2018, to a morgue in Alotenango municipality.

Videos showed a fast-moving flow destroying a bridge on a highway between Sacatepequez and Escuintla and barefoot residents covered in muddy residue.

“Not everyone was able to get out. I think they ended up buried,” Consuelo Hernandez, an El Rodeo resident, told the Diario de Centroamerica newspaper.

“Where we saw the lava fall, we ran to a hillside” to escape, she said.

Israel, an ally of Guatemala, said it delivered food, blankets and medicine to help people affected by the eruption.</s>GUATEMALA CITY — One of Central America’s most active volcanos erupted in fiery explosions of ash and molten rock Sunday, killing at least six people and injuring 20 while a towering cloud of smoke blanketed nearby villages in heavy ash.

National Disaster Coordinator Sergio Cabanas said an undetermined number of people were missing following the eruption of the Volcan de Fuego, Spanish for “volcano of fire,” which lies 27 miles from Guatemala City.

Cabanas said four people, including a disaster agency official, died when lava set a house on fire in El Rodeo village, and two children were burned to death as they watched the volcano’s second eruption this year from a bridge.

Guatemala’s disaster agency said 3,100 people had evacuated nearby communities, and the eruption was affecting an area with a population of about 1.7 million people. Shelters were opened for those forced to flee.

Ash was falling on the Guatemala City area as well as the departments of Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango and Escuintla, which are in south-central Guatemala around the volcano. Streets and houses were covered in the colonial town of Antigua, a popular tourist destination.

Aviation authorities closed the capital’s international airport because of the danger posed to planes by the ash.

The conical Volcan de Fuego reaches an altitude of 12,346 feet above sea level at its peak.</s>GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - At least seven people, including three children, were killed and nearly 300 injured on Sunday in the most violent eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano in over four decades, officials said.

Fuego volcano, whose name means “fire” in English, spewed an 8-kilometer (5-mile) stream of red hot lava and belched a thick plume of black smoke and ash that rained onto the capital and other regions.

The charred bodies of victims laid on the steaming, ashen remnants of a pyroclastic flow as rescuers attended to badly injured victims.

“It’s a river of lava that overflowed its banks and affected the El Rodeo village. There are injured, burned and dead people,” Sergio Cabanas, the general secretary of Guatemala’s CONRED national disaster management agency, said on radio.

“We have 7 confirmed dead, 4 adults and 3 kids, who were already taken to the morgue,” said Mario Cruz, spokesman for the volunteer firefighter corps.

Cabanas said one of those killed was a CONRED employee. He added that 3,100 people had evacuated the area so far.

Dozens of videos were popping up on social media and local TV, depicting the extent of devastation.

One video published by news outlet Telediario purportedly taken in the El Rodeo village showed three bodies strewn atop a lava flow, as rescuers arrived to attend to an elderly man caked from head to toe in ash and mud.

“Unfortunately El Rodeo was buried and we haven’t been able to reach the La Libertad village because of the lava and maybe there are people that died there too,” said CONRED’s Cabanas.

In another video, a visibly exhausted woman said she had narrowly escaped as lava poured through corn fields.

“Not everyone escaped, I think they were buried,” Consuelo Hernandez told local news outlet Diario de Centroamerica in a video.

Steaming lava flowed down the streets of a village as emergency crews entered homes in search of trapped residents, another video on a different local media outlet showed.

President Jimmy Morales said he had convened his ministers and was considering declaring a state of emergency in the departments of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepequez.

The eruption forced the Guatemala City’s La Aurora international airport to shut down its only runway due to the presence of volcanic ash and to guarantee passenger and aircraft safety, Guatemala’s civil aviation authority said in a Tweet.

The volcano is located some 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the capital Guatemala City and is close to the colonial city of Antigua, popular with tourists and known for its coffee plantations.

Workers and guests were evacuated from the La Reunion golf club near Antigua. Video footage showed a black cloud of ash rising from just beyond the golf club. The lava river was running on the other side of the volcano.

The huge plumes of smoke that could be seen from various parts of the country and the ash that fell in four of Guatemala’s departments caused alarm among residents.

“Temperatures in the pyroclastic flow can exceed 700 degrees (Celsius) and volcanic ash can rain down on a 15 kilometer (9.32 miles) radius. That could cause more mud flows and nearby rivers to burst their banks,” said Eddy Sanchez, director of Guatemala’s seismological, volcanic and meteorological institute.

David de Leon, a CONRED spokesman, said a change in wind was to blame for the volcanic ash falling on parts of the capital.</s>A volunteer firefighter cries after leaving El Rodeo village in Escuintla department, 35 km south of Guatemala City on June 3, 2018, following the eruption of the Fuego Volcano.

At least 25 people were killed when a volcano erupted in Guatemala, sending lava flowing into villages, and leaving homes and roads blanketed with ash.

Authorities fear the death toll could rise further because many people are unaccounted for. President Jimmy Morales has announced three days of mourning.

Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of fire) — one of the most active volcanoes in Central America — is located about 27 miles from Guatemala City.

The death toll rose late Sunday after 18 bodies were found in the community of San Miguel Los Lotes, disaster agency spokesman David de Leon said. Seven people were initially confirmed dead after the volcano erupted soon after noon local time Sunday. At least 20 people were injured.

National Disaster Management Agency chief Sergio Cabañas told local radio that a lava stream changed course to head toward the village of El Rodeo, the BBC reported.

View of the Fuego volcano during what would be the second eruption in 2018 and the strongest in recent years from Alotenango, Guatemala, June 3, 2018.

"Unfortunately El Rodeo was buried and we haven't been able to reach the La Libertad village because of the lava and maybe there are people that died there too," he said.

More than 3,000 people evacuated nearby communities, and the eruption was affecting an area with a population of about 1.7 million people. Shelters were opened for those forced to flee.

Hundreds of rescue workers were helping survivors and recovering bodies from the lava, while some areas were inaccessible as roads were cut off by the flow. Some firefighters were pictured weeping as they left the scene of the destruction.

Videos showed a fast-moving flow destroying a bridge on a highway between Sacatepequez and Escuintla, and barefoot residents covered in muddy residue.

“Not everyone was able to get out. I think they ended up buried,” Consuelo Hernandez, an El Rodeo resident, told the Diario de Centroamerica newspaper.

“Where we saw the lava fall, we ran to a hillside” to escape, she said.</s>At least six people have died after one of Central America’s most active volcanoes erupted, sending out fiery explosions of molten rock.

An undetermined number of people were missing following the eruption of the Volcan de Fuego, which is 27 miles from Guatemala City, national disaster coordinator Sergio Cabanas said.

Mr Cabanas said four people, including a disaster agency official, died when lava set a house on fire in El Rodeo village and two children were burned to death while standing on a bridge watching the volcano’s second eruption this year.

David de Leon, spokesman for the disaster agency, said authorities had already evacuated about 300 people from nearby areas.

Ash was falling on the Guatemala City area as well as the departments of Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango and Escuintla, which are in south-central Guatemala around the volcano.

Streets and houses were covered in the colonial town of Antigua.

The Directorate of Civil Aeronautics announced that La Aurora International Airport was closed because of the danger posed to planes by the ash.</s>MEXICO CITY: The number of fatalities from a massive volcano eruption in Guatemala rose to 62 on Monday, an official in the Central American country said.

Only 13 of the dead have been identified so far, Mirna Zeledon, a spokeswoman for Guatemala´s National Institute of Forensic Sciences told Reuters.

The eruption of Fuego - Spanish for "fire" - on Sunday was the biggest in more than four decades, forcing the closure of Guatemala´s main international airport and dumping ash on thousands of acres (hectares) of coffee farms on the volcano´s slopes.</s>A volcano erupted in Guatemala on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring 20 as a cloud of smoke coated nearby villages in heavy ash.

One of the most active volcanoes in Central America, Volcan de Fuego (Spanish for “volcano of fire") is located about 27 miles from Guatemala City.

Some 3,100 people evacuated nearby communities, and the eruption was affecting an area with a population of about 1.7 million people. Shelters were opened for those forced to flee.

“It’s a river of lava that overflowed its banks and affected the Rodeo village. There are injured, burned and dead people,” Sergio Cabanas, the general secretary of Guatemala’s Conred disaster agency, said on radio, according to the Guardian.

Social media posts showed photos and videos of people perilously close to the eruption, which one volcanologist warned strongly against:

"This is a deadly eruption," tweeted volcanologist Janine Krippner of Concord University. "This is an awful place to be, if you are ever around an erupting volcano like this and you see a cloud moving along the ground towards you, RUN. GET OUT OF THERE!."

Officials fear more people may be dead or injured.</s>GUATEMALA — Guatemala’s Fuego volcano erupted, killing at least 25 people and leaving residents covered in ash as they fled from billowing plumes.

The volcanic eruption Sunday spewed a river of red hot lava and belched thick clouds of smoke nearly six miles into the air, according to the CONRED, the government agency for disaster reduction. Ashen remnants covered neighborhoods.

In addition to the fatalities, 20 others were injured, CONRED said.

Survivors described the horror and destruction when the volcano erupted.

“Not everyone escaped, I think they were buried,” Consuelo Hernandez said in a video released by CONRED. “We saw the lava was pouring through the corn fields and we ran toward a hill.”

Hernandez told officials from the disaster agency that some of her relatives were buried. Images from the scene showed a firefighter weeping.

More than 3,100 people have been evacuated while search and rescue efforts continue into the night, said Sergio García Cabañas, director of the disaster agency. The explosion will affect 1.7 million people.

Authorities urged residents living near the volcano to evacuate immediately, and warned some in Chimaltenango, Sacatepequez and Escuintla states to watch out for volcanic rocks and ash.

Residents were told to avoid roads close to the volcano and ensure water is not contaminated.

At least 15 people have been hospitalized, including 12 children, some of whom suffered severe burns, the health ministry said.

The eruption officially ended late Sunday, according to the Guatemala’s National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology.

“The eruption … is reaching its end with 14.763 feet of ash and weak-to-moderate explosions and incandescence in its crater,” it said in a statement.

But it warned there could be new eruptions, and residents in the surrounding areas should be on alert for mudslides containing volcanic material. Volcanic ash had spread in a 12-mile radius and winds could carry the cloud even farther, officials said.

Guatemala is situated on the “Ring of Fire,” an area of intense seismic activity.

The 40,000-kilometer (25,000-mile) area stretches from the boundary of the Pacific Plate and the smaller plates such as the Philippine Sea plate to the Cocos and Nazca Plates that line the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Volcan de Fuego, which means fire volcano, is one of Central America’s most active.

It is near the colonial city of Antigua. Sunday’s explosion rained soot over the popular tourist destination and other villages in the Sacatepéquez state, covering them in ash.

Villages south of the volcano in the Escuintla department were affected, too, Cabañas said. Some ash reached the capital of Guatemala City about 25 miles away, forcing the closure of its international airport. The Guatemalan army shared images of officers clearing the runway with push brooms.

“All our solidarity and support to the President Jimmy Morales and the Guatemalan people for the loss of human life after the eruption of the volcano of Fire.”

The President of El Salvador offered his condolences via Twitter and said his country stood ready to assist its neighbor.

Israel’s Ambassador to Guatemala and the Mayor of Puerto Rico also expressed their solidarity.
Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala erupts, leaving at least 62 people dead, 300 others injured, and forces the closure of La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City.