'Volcano of Fire' eruption kills seven in Guatemala

By Sanya Burgess, news reporter

At least seven people have died after Guatemala's "Volcano of Fire" erupted, spewing lava into a village and sending smoke and ash billowing into the sky.

"It's a river of lava that overflowed its banks and affected the Rodeo village. There are injured, burned and dead people," said Sergio Cabanas, head of Guatemala's Conred disaster agency.

"We are evacuating and rescuing people and have reports of 20 wounded, six dead and disappeared."

#VolcánDeFuego 🌋 hace erupción en #Guatemala 🇬🇹 pic.twitter.com/rLgiyJxyaN

— Noti Bomba (@notibomba) June 3, 2018

He said four people had died when lava set a house on fire and two children were killed while standing on a bridge watching the eruption.

Volcan de Fuego - which means "Volcano of Fire" in English - is 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the capital, Guatemala City.

It began exploding shortly before noon local time.

Eddy Sanchez, director of the country's seismology and volcanology institute, said the flows reached temperatures of about 700C (1,300F).

Image: At least six have died following the eruption 25 miles from the capital

"We have seven confirmed dead, four adults and three kids, who were already taken to the morgue," said Mario Cruz, spokesman for the volunteer firefighter corps.

Around 3,100 people were evacuated from the area, according to Mr Cabanas. An unknown number of people are unaccounted for.

Image: Police officers are posted, as the Fuego Volcano erupts

"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 Mr Cabanas.

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.

A woman covered in ash said lava had poured through fields and she feared more people had died.

Actualidad erupción Volcán de Fuego @mmendoza_GT @EmisorasUnidas @ConredGuatemala @CanalAntigua en km. 91.5 Alotenango pic.twitter.com/ex3QyTEsks

— Sara Sofia Soto (@Sara_SotoG) June 3, 2018

"Not everyone escaped, I think they were buried," Consuelo Hernandez told local news outlet Diario de Centroamerica.

Lava streamed down the streets of a village as emergency crews searched homes looking for trapped residents, another local news source reported.

The eruption forced the capital's international airport to shut down its only runway, as ash and smoke filled the sky and blanketed cars, roads and houses.

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Image: Ash blanketed roads, cars and streets

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

Volcan de Fuego is also close to the popular tourist destination Antigua, known for its coffee plantations.

Original Article

World

July 15, 2018