Guatemala: 25 killed, scores injured as Fuego volcano erupts

At least 25 people were killed and scores others injured when a volcano erupted Guatemala on Sunday. Fuego volcano was spewing ash and rock into the sky, forcing authorities to close the airport.

“The toll was 25 dead as of 9:00 pm (0300 GMT Monday),” a spokesperson for the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred) said, according to PTI.

The flow of lava (ash billowing) hit the nearby villages, killing people inside their houses. President Jimmy Morales declared three days of national mourning in wake of the deaths due to the most violent volcano eruption in decades.

Morales also announced a red alert for Escuintla, Chimaltenango and Sacatepequez, the areas most affected by the eruption, and an orange alert throughout the country.

Several teams of police, Red Cross and military have been dispatched to support emergency operations in the area. However, the search and rescue operations had to be suspended due to dangerous conditions.

Twenty people suffered burn injuries, and more than 3,000 were evacuated due to the eruption, which affected rural communities around the volcano as well as Antigua Guatemala, a colonial-era town very popular with tourists in the Central American country, Conred chief Sergio Cabanas said.

There are also “missing persons, but we do not know how many,” Cabanas said, adding that lava had blocked entry to several communities.

(With PTI inputs)