Guatemala volcano eruption update LIVE: Fuego EXPLOSION kills 38 – 2 MILLION affected
THIRTY-EIGHT people are dead and 300 are injured after the Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted spewing ash and molten rock thousands of feet into the air and blanketing villages with lava.
By PAUL WITHERS
Express.co.uk
Mon, Jun 4, 2018
38 people dead and 300 injured in in the most violent eruption of Guatemala’s volcano in more than four decades
Two million people affected by the volcanic eruption – lava rivers still flowing onto highways and streets
Authorities fear death toll will rise – alert issued for ash and lahars
Ash even reached neighbouring country of El Salvador and expected to reach Mexico
Travel alerts issues by the British FCO
Military providing assistance with the clean up operation, state of distater declared
The volcano, which lies about 27 miles from Guatemala City, erupted just before midday local time on Sunday and lava attacked villages and roads by 4pm.
The army have said they have evacuated more than 3,000 people from around the volcano and pictures have emerged of soldiers carrying children covered in ash from their homes.
The Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has declared a state of emergency in the states of Chimaltenango, Sacatepequez and Escuintla.
According to the Guatemalan director of seismology and volcanology institute, Eddy Sanchez, the volcano’s temperatures reached a torturous 1,300 degrees.
The UK’s Foreign Office has said that the main airport in Guatemala City, La Aurora, has been closed due to the falling ash from the volcanic eruption.
The people living close to the volcano have been advised not to expose themselves to the pyroclastic flows or lava close to the volcanic zone.
Volcan de Fuego, which mean the volcano of fire, is one of Central America’s most active and is near the colonial city of Antigua – a popular tourist spot.
The Central American country of Guatemala is situated on the Ring of Fire, which is an area of a lot of seismic activity.
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