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Dozens dead, 1.7M affected by Guatemala volcano eruption

By Ed Adamczyk, Danielle Haynes and Daniel Uria   |   June 4, 2018 at 2:01 PM
A Guatemalan rescue team worker carries a girl in El Rodeo, Escuintla, Guatemala, on Sunday after the eruption at the Mount Fuego volcano. At least 33 people died and 1.7 million people affected by the seismic event, officials said. Photo by Noe Perez/EPA-EFE Police escort residents of El Rodeo, Guatemala, to safety on Sunday after Mount Fuego erupted and buried the town in lava. At least 33 deaths were reported. Photo by Jose Misa/EPA-EFE An engineer surveys damage to the town of El Rodeo, Guatemala, on Sunday after Mount Fuego erupted. At least 33 people died in the flow of lava. Photo by Noe Perez/EPA-EFE Ash billows from Mount Fuego in Guatemala after a volcanic eruption on Sunday. Photo by Estaban Biba/EPA-EFE A Guatemalan watches the eruption of Mount Fuego in El Rodeo, Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday. At least 33 people were killed and 1.7 million people affected by the seismic event, officials said. Photo by Esteban Biba/EPA-EFE

June 4 (UPI) -- At least 62 people died after the sudden eruption of Guatemala's Mount Fuego, a seismic event that's affecting nearly 2 million people, local authorities said.

Thirteen of the 62 people killed by the eruption were identified Monday, said Mirna Celedon, a spokeswoman for Guatemala's Institute of Forensic Sciences.

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Guatemala's Health Ministry said at least 15 people have been hospitalized, including 12 children.

The volcano, 25 miles from Guatemala City, erupted for the second time this year around noon Sunday. Most of the dead and injured were from the town of El Rodeo, where lava flow overtook structures.

Thick ash exploded from the top of the 12,000-foot mountain and winds blew ash northwest toward the cities of San Luca, Antigua Guatemala, Alotenango, Chimaltenago and Zaragoza.

The country's seismology institute said the eruption of Mount Fuego, Spanish for "fire mountain," sent ash and debris nearly 33,000 feet into the air.

"It's a river of lava that overflowed its banks and affected the El Rodeo village. There are injured, burned and dead people," Sergio Cabañas, the general secretary of Guatemala's CONRED national disaster management agency, said in a radio address.

A CONRED advisory warned of falling rocks and another said El Rodeo was buried beneath lava. He added that the flow is hindering rescuers from entering the town. The agency described the lava as pyroclastic flow -- a mixture of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gas.

CONRED said the eruption lasted more than 16 hours before quieting.

Officials said they evacuated more than 3,000 people. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales declared a national emergency and three days of mourning.

Among the dead is a CONRED officer. At least 12 children received third-degree burns and were taken to Guatemala City's Roosevelt Hospital. Officials fear the death toll will rise

By late Sunday, Guatemala's corps of army engineers said it was plowing volcanic ash off runways at the closed airport in Guatemala City, and videos online show entire areas covered in volcanic ash.