At least 99 dead in Guatemala amid threat of more eruptions

FEARS OF A NEW BLOW-UP OF THE 3,763-METRE VOLCANO HAVE STALKED RESCUE WORKERS

Explosions boomed from Guatemala’s fearsome Fuego volcano on Wednesday, unleashing fresh torrents of molten mud and ash down slopes, as the death toll from a previous eruption rose to at least 99.

Fears of a new blow-up of the 3,763-metre volcano have stalked rescue workers since Sunday’s eruption buried entire villages on its southern flank.

Only 28 identified

The National Forensic Sciences Agency said in a report on Wednesday that morgues had received the remains of 99 people killed as a result of the eruption. Only 28 have been identified so far, it said.

“We already have data with names and locations where there are missing persons and that number is 192,” Sergio Cabanas, head of Guatemala’s disaster management agency, told reporters earlier in the day.

Experts warned on Wednesday that heavy rains in the area could provoke avalanches due to the large flows of volcanic mud, known as lahars, since the eruption on Sunday.

Volcanologists recorded the volcano exploding several times an hour Wednesday, which generated a fresh 4,700-metre high column of grey ash.

“The explosions are generating moderate avalanches that have an approximate distance of 800 to 1,000 metres,” the Vulcanology Institute said.

It said the lahars could sweep down the mountain laden with concrete, rocks up to a metre in diameter and tree trunks.

“The activity continues and the possibility of new pyroclastic flows in the next hours or days cannot be ruled out, so it is recommended not to remain near the affected area,” it said.

Landslide

Emergency workers had to temporarily suspend their search on Tuesday after a new eruption triggered a landslide.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from seven communities in the Escuintla area near the summit, as panicked locals rushed to their cars to escape, causing chaotic traffic.

More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, the disaster management agency said, more than 3,000 of them housed in temporary shelters.

The killer eruption was the Central American country’s strongest in four decades.

It sent huge clouds of ash barrelling over the surrounding area, blanketing roads.

AFP Relatives mourn during the funeral of 20-year-old Erick Rivas, a victim of the Fuego volcano eruption, in Alotenango municipality, ■ near Guatemala City, on Wednesday. Explosions boomed from the volcano on Wednesday.

Reuters Evacuees from areas surrounding the Fuego volcano gather ■ in a provisional shelter in a local school in Escuintla.