Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire erupts, covering villages in ash and leaving 75 dead
The recent eruption of the Volcano of Fire in Guatemala was the biggest since at least 1974 and especially deadly, having caught many living near it by surprise.
More than 3,000 people have been displaced. Hundreds were injured and dozens more remained missing, according to a Guatemala disaster agency. It said the eruption has affected a total of 1.7 million people.
Left, rescue workers run for cover as the volcano blows more clouds of ash in the village of El Rodeo in Escuintla, Guatemala. Right, aerial view of El Rodeo, one of the villages in the disaster area.
Guatemala's Volcano of Fire during an eruption as seen from Alotenango, Guatemala
It all happened in an instant. Not minutes, but seconds. The lava came down and swept everything away.
— Eufemia Garcia, El Rodeo resident who was not home at the time of the eruption
People flee El Rodeo and police transport the wounded after the eruption.
Access to the villages is very difficult. We have to enter through the roofs.
— Francis Vasquez, rescue worker
Firefighters remove a body buried in volcanic ash in the village of El Rodeo.
Clockwise from top left, residents carry the coffins of seven people who died in the eruption along the streets of Alotenango, Guatemala; family and friends mourn at the wake for seven people; some of the 100 people to attend the funeral for Juan Fernando Galindo, who died in the volcanic eruption; and volunteer firefighters carry the coffins of two children.
The whole crop was ruined. What are we are going to do to feed our children?
— Sofio Morales, a coffee farmer
Left, a plea for help is left at a home blanketed in volcanic ash in the village of El Rodeo. Right, coffee plants covered in ash in Las Lajas, Guatemala.
A firefighter kneels beside bodies recovered near the volcano in Escuintla, Guatemala.
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