Guatemala volcano eruption update: Fuego shows signs of GREATER eruption – latest warnings
GUATEMALA is still in the grip of its worst volcanic eruption in decades with officials warning a greater eruption could be on its way and the death toll climbing. Here are the latest warnings and all you need to know about Volcan de Fuego.
By KATE WHITFIELD
Express.co.uk
Wed, Jun 6, 2018
A second eruption on the slopes of Volcan de Fuego – meaning ‘volcano of fire’ in Spanish – caught rescue workers by surprise and sent them scrambling for cover.
Authorities from the seismological, volcanic and meteorological institute Insivumeh have now warned a greater eruption could be imminent.
Insivumeh director Eddy Sanchez said: “The conditions are extremely critical at this moment.”
Further evacuations have been ordered as Tuesday’s eruption threatened the Las Lajas Canyon village.
he worst of the volcano’s wrath has so far been felt in the towns of El Rodeo, Alotenango and San Miguel los Lotes, with the death toll currently at 75, but expected to rise.
The health ministry has reported that 58 people are in hospital with third-degree burns and twelve children are being transferred by air to specialist hospitals.
El Rodeo, which bore the brunt of the volcano’s fury, is almost entirely buried under ash and rock.
Remote villages on Fuego’s foothills remain inaccessible to rescue crews, and officials have no real sense of how many people could be trapped.
The latest explosion sent ash 5,000 metres into the air and a new pyroclastic flow could be forming.
rescue efforts have been further hampered by poor weather conditions, with heavy rains generating a fiery steam rising from the hot ash smothering the areas.
The initial eruption on Sunday came as a surprise to residents and scientists alike, with most not having time to escape the wall of the approaching pyroclastic flow.
A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of extremely hot gas and volcanic matter that pours down volcanic slopes at incredibly high speeds.
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