Death toll from Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire rises to 62 after fresh eruption, as rigid bodies are found caked in ash and landscape is ‘totally destroyed’
Volcan de Fuego, which translates to ‘volcano of fire’, exploded on Sunday just 27 miles from Guatemala City
At least 62 people have been killed and hundreds injured with areas nearby blanketed in clouds of ash
Another explosion on Monday sent mud, ash and gas down the slopes, hindering rescue efforts this morning
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded near the Guatemala coast although it was not felt in the capital
Four died as their house was set on fire and two children died watching the eruption from a nearby bridge
British backpacker Richard Fitz-Hugh was climbing a nearby peak and missed being on Fuego when it erupted
By MARLENE LENTHANG
DAILYMAIL.COM
4 June 2018
he death toll from Guatemala’s volcanic explosion has risen to 62 as a hot flow of mud, ash and gas swept down from Guatemala’s Fuego volcano on Monday following a new explosion in the morning.
The second explosion hindered rescue efforts today as disaster workers pulled bodies from the brown sludge that engulfed the village of El Rodeo, after the volcano near Guatemala City exploded in a fiery display of ash and lava on Sunday.
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake also shook the Guatemala coast on Monday although no damage was initially reported and it was not felt in the capital.
The death toll rose from 25 to 38 on Sunday. Now the director of Guatemala’s National Institute of Forensic Science says that 62 bodies have been recovered following the eruption.
The bodies were recovered in the hamlets of Los Lotes and El Rodeo and Fanuel Garcia said on Monday that only 13 of them have been identified so far. Many have been pictured caked in ash.
A government volcanologist said ‘everything is totally destroyed’ and said the landscape had ‘totally changed’ after the eruption.
The morning eruption also halted rescue efforts on the southern slopes of Fuego, although emergency workers have pulled 10 people still alive from ash drifts and mud flows.
Volcan de Fuego, which translates to ‘volcano of fire’, known to be one of Central America’s most active, destroyed homes and blanketed nearby villages in soot as it sent clouds of ash six miles into the air, in its second eruption this year.
Search and rescue operations for the missing and dead were resuming this morning using heavy machinery and shovels, after they had to be suspended due to low light and dangerous conditions last night. An undetermined number of people are still unaccounted for.
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