Guatemala volcano: Rain hampers rescues as death toll climbs | News | DW | 07.06.2018

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Guatemala volcano: Rain hampers rescues as death toll climbs

Rescuers in Guatemala have been hindered in their rescue efforts as a downpour made for treacherous conditions below the Fuego volcano. Officials said the death toll has mounted to just under 100.

Guatemala firefighters carry a man on a stretcher (Reuters/L. Echeverria)

Almost 200 people were still listed as missing on Thursday, as rescuers had to cut short efforts when a downpour raised fears of mudslides.

At least 99 people were reported dead by Guatemala's National Institute of Forensic Sciences — most of them unidentified — up from 75 the previous day.

Boiling water flowed down the volcano slopes, with search teams only able to operate with shovels and heavy equipment between stoppages. Meanwhile, experts warned that the deluge could provoke avalanches due to volcanic mudflows known as lahars.

Volcanologists recorded several explosions per hour on Wednesday, as the volcano generated a new 4,700-meter (15,500-foot) column of gray ash.

  • Guatemala's Volcano of Fire erupts on June 3 (picture-alliance/AP/dpa/S. Billy)

    Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire' eruptions kill dozens

    Sudden eruption

    Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego, or "Volcano of Fire," suddenly began erupting on Sunday, taking authorities and local residents by surprise. The 3,763-meter (12,346-foot) volcano has been spewing out clouds of dense ash and molten rock fragments.

  • Guatemala Vulkanausbruch | Trauerzug (picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Soto)

    Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire' eruptions kill dozens

    Dozens killed

    Mourners in San Juan Alotenago carry the bodies of loved ones who lost their lives in the disaster. The eruptions have killed at least 75 people so far and injured another 46 people, with half of them in serious condition, officials said.

  • Rescue workers remove ash at an area affected by the eruption of the Fuego volcano (Reuters/L. Echeverria)

    Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire' eruptions kill dozens

    Searching for nearly 200 missing people

    Working against an almost black-and-white backdrop, rescue workers attempt to dig out an area covered in a thick layer of volcanic ash. Officials said 192 people are still unaccounted since the volcano began erupting. Rescuers have been hampered by inclement conditions, destroyed roads and new volcanic flows.

  • An aerial view of the area around Volcan del Fuego (picture-alliance/Zuma Press/National Police Of Guatemala)

    Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire' eruptions kill dozens

    Ash-covered communities

    The normally lush, green communities in the danger zone around the volcano, like this one in Escuintla, were covered in a thick layer of volcanic ash following the eruptions. The first eruption on Sunday largely destroyed the villages of El Rodeo and San Miguel Los Lotes.

  • People carry stuff at an area affected by the eruption of the Fuego volcano in the community of San Miguel Los Lotes in Escuintla, Guatemala (Reuters/L. Echeverria)

    Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire' eruptions kill dozens

    Evacuations trigger panic

    Over 3,000 people in the area around the volcano had to be evacuated, with some 1.7 million people in total affected by the disaster. Frightened residents fleeing the area on Tuesday clogged the roads and took few possessions with them, concerned about warnings of fresh volcanic flows.

  • Guatemala Vulkanausbruch (picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Abd)

    Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire' eruptions kill dozens

    Dangerous pyroclastic flows

    Even days after the initial explosion, certain areas were still too hot for rescuers to search for survivors or bodies. Besides ash, the volcanic eruption triggered "pyroclastic flows." These fast-moving flows bring with them dangerous gas emissions, fiery rock fragments and boiling-hot mud.

  • A firefighter carries a dog at an area affected by the eruption of the Fuego volcano (Reuters/L. Echeverria)

    Guatemala's 'Volcano of Fire' eruptions kill dozens

    Guatemala on high alert

    Rescuers also managed to save some dogs and birds from communities affected by the eruptions, although many cows and other livestock were found dead. Several days after the Volcano of Fire first erupted, Guatemala remained on high alert, with President Jimmy Morales calling on locals to remain calm.

    Author: Rebecca Staudenmaier (with AP, AFP, dpa)


"The explosions are generating moderate avalanches that have an approximate distance of 800 to 1,000 meters," the country's vulcanology institute said.

Criticism of preparedness

The institute said the lahars could sweep down the mountain gathering concrete, large rocks and tree trunks. Meanwhile, there was the even bigger danger of superheated pyroclastic materials being unleashed.

Read more: Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupts, killing scores

"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," the institute said.

On its website, the national disaster agency Conred reported that more than 1.7 million people had been affected by the disaster. Conred's director, Sergio Garcia Cabanas, came under criticism from opposition politicians for "not having acted" in time to prevent the scale of loss.

Superheated volcanic material devastated small communities on the fringes of the volcano when it erupted on Sunday, with the severity taking many residents by surprise.

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rc/sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

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