Guatemala volcano ERUPTION: Devastating pictures emerge as Volcan de Fuego wreaks HAVOC

The volcano is located about 25 miles south-west of the capital Guatemala City.

Flows of molten rock have destroyed at least one village, causing several deaths and injuries.

Photos taken near Volcan de Fuego show the volcano spewing black smoke and ash into the sky.

Other images highlight the ash raining down, causing havoc in four of Guatemala's administrative regions.

Footage showed soot blanket cars and houses in the nearby villages of San Pedro Yepocapa and Sangre de Cristo.

Guatemala’s President Jimmy Morales said a national emergency is underway.

The head of the National Disaster Prevention Authority Sergio Cabañas said: "People have been injured, burned and killed.

“Evacuations and searches are underway.”

Mario Cruz, a spokesman for the volunteer firefighter corps, said 3,100 people had evacuated the area so far.

He added: “We have seven confirmed dead, four adults and three kids, who were already taken to the morgue.”

In a video circulating on social media, a black cloud of ash could be seen rising from just beyond the golf club.

A woman who was covered in ash told the Diario de Centroamerica that lava had poured through corn fields.

She said: "Not everyone escaped, I think they were buried.”

The Guatemalan government says around one million people have been affected by the eruption.

Officials have advised citizens to wear masks due to the falling ash.

The capital's La Aurora airport has been closed.

The Guatemalan military said it was providing assistance including clearing volcanic ash from the airport's runway.

This is the second time the volcano has erupted this year.