Giant clouds of superheated smoke and ash burned people alive and buried entire towns in a deadly volcanic eruption in Guatemala that killed almost 100 people.
Shocking satellite photos of before and after Sunday’s eruption show whole suburbs wiped off the map as hundreds of houses collapsed when tons of falling ash crushed them.
What was once a collection of green canyons, hillsides and farms was reduced to grey devastation by fast-moving avalanches of super-heated muck that roared into the tightly knit villages on the mountain’s flanks.
Volcan de Fuego, meaning ‘Volcano of Fire’ spewed a ‘curtain’ of ash 20,000ft into the air and sent rapid pyroclastic flows through at least seven nearby towns in the biggest eruption for four decades.
Shocking satellite photos of before and after Sunday’s eruption show the town of San Miguel Los Lotes wiped off the map as hundreds of houses collapsed when tons of falling ash crushed them
A closer view of San Miguel Los Lotes shows only a small part of the town is even visible, let alone vaguely intact, after the ash ‘curtain’ swept through it in just three minutes
What was once a collection of green canyons, hillsides and farms was reduced to grey devastation by fast-moving avalanches of super-heated muck that roared into the tightly knit villages on the mountain’s flanks. Pictured is La Reunion Golf Resort
A closer shot of the La Reunion Golf Resort shows it encased in volcanic material with the buildings heavily damaged
Volcan de Fuego, meaning ‘Volcano of Fire’ spewed a ‘curtain’ of ash 20,000ft into the air and sent rapid pyroclastic flows through at least seven nearby towns in the biggest eruption for four decades
A secondary eruption on Tuesday blew ash more than 16,000ft above sea level and sent more volcanic material over settlements to the east and northeast.
Rescuers have dug 99 bodies out of the ash and rubble, only 28 of whom have been identified, with at least 197 people still missing with little hope of survival.
More than 1.7 million people we affected by the eruption with 12,000 evacuated to overflowing relief centers were volunteers gave out food and emergency supplies.
Farm worker Alfonso Castillo, 33, said his village of San Miguel Los Lotes was completely obliterated by what he described as a ‘sea’ of muck that came crashing into homes, inundating people, pets and wildlife.
‘In a matter of three or four minutes the village disappeared,’ he said.
Rescue workers can be seen searching in El Rodeo, one of the hamlets in the disaster area near the Volcan de Fuego
Volcanic ash blankets homes and trees near the Volcan de Fuego, or ‘Volcano of Fire,’ where rescue workers gather in the El Rodeo hamlet of Escuintla
The fiery volcanic eruption in south-central Guatemala killed scores as rescuers struggled to reach people where homes and roads were charred and blanketed with ash
View of the damage caused by the eruption of the Fuego Volcano in village of San Miguel Los Lotes, in Escuintla
Firefighters work in the disaster zone blanketed in volcanic ash near the Volcano of Fire in the El Rodeo hamlet of Escuintla
A victim of the volcano who was mummified by the ash that swept through his village after the eruption
Some villagers had no chance to run and were found in much the same way as victims of Pompeii
The family holed up in a house that heated up ‘like a boiler’ inside, he said, then made their way onto the roof and then to the upper story of another, concrete home. After a cellphone call to Mr Castillo’s brother, rescuers arrived and took the family to safety.
‘Nobody wants to go back there. My children say they would rather be in the streets,’ he said.
‘There are many people who are helping us, but we have absolutely nothing. We could not get anything out. For us, there is no tomorrow.’
Firefighters said temperatures just below the surface of the disaster areas were still as high as 750F to 1,300F, making rescues difficult and extremely dangerous.
‘Nobody is going to be able to get them out or say how many are buried here,’ Efrain Suarez said, standing amid the smoking holes dotting what used to be the village of San Miguel Los Lotes on the flanks of the mountain.
‘The bodies are already charred,’ the 59-year-old truck driver said. ‘And if heavy machinery comes in they will be torn apart.’
Guatemalan authorities ‘were warned to evacuate people seven hours before it erupted’ but ‘did not act’
Guatemalan authorities were warned to evacuate citizens from the danger zone surrounding a volcano more than seven hours before it erupted
Guatemalan authorities were warned to evacuate citizens from the danger zone surrounding a volcano more than seven hours before it erupted.
Local newspaper El Periodico revealed that from 6:00 am on Sunday, the National Institute of Seismology alerted the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction about the impending eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano.
During the following seven hours, until the moment of the eruption, the National Institute issued two further warnings which were not heeded by emergency response agency Conred.
According to the newspaper it was not until 1.45 pm, nearly eight hours later, that the Disaster Reduction Coordinator finally raised the level of alert and urged sounded the alarm for evacuations to take place.
Mario Taracena, a senior opposition figure, wants Conred’s boss dismissed and said the government should investigate whether there was criminal negligence.
Rescuers have dug 99 bodies out of the ash and rubble, only 28 of whom have been identified, with at least 197 people still missing with little hope of survival.
A map of the volcano and affected areas since Sunday’s eruption in Guatemala as deadly flows destroyed towns
The volcano is in the Central American country’s south, southwest of the capital Guatemala City
Volcanic ash blankets a home destroyed by the Volcan de Fuego, or ‘Volcano of Fire,’ eruption in Escuintla
Rescue workers remove piles of ash in El Rodeo spewed by the Volcan de Fuego eruption
Efrain Suarez walks through a barren terrain of his village of San Miguel Los Lotes, which was completely destroyed in the eruption
Firefighters said temperatures just below the surface of the disaster areas were still as high as 750F to 1,300F, making rescues difficult and extremely dangerous
Rescuer workers used pickaxes, metal rods and flashlights in hand, risking their own lives in search of victims or a miracle survivor while bulldozers stood by to help
The front door of a home blanketed in volcanic ash carries a hand written help sign in the disaster zone in the El Rodeo hamlet of Escuintla
Thick gray ash covering the stricken region was hardened by rainfall, making it even more difficult to dig through the mud, rocks and debris that reached to the rooftops of homes.
Rain often forced teams to retreat for fear of mudslides and boiling water flowing down the volcano’s slopes from dangerously hot volcanic gas and ash also posed a threat.
Rescuer workers used pickaxes, metal rods and flashlights in hand, risking their own lives in search of victims or a miracle survivor while bulldozers stood by to help.
‘We can only work in places where we can stand on the roofs of houses… because the ash is very hot,’ rescuer Diego Lorenzana, 25, said.
‘There are places where you stick the pickaxe or rod in and we see a lot of smoke coming out and fire and it’s impossible to keep digging because we could die.’
Rescue operators said after 72 hours there was virtually no chance of finding anyone else alive.
‘If you are trapped in a pyroclastic flow, it’s hard to come out of it alive,’ disaster relief agency chief Sergio Cabanas said, adding that people who may have been caught in the flow may never be found.
An elderly man, who was featured in a video shortly after the eruption that showed him in a state of shock, caked from head to toe in ash and mud, died from the severe burns he suffered.
Backpackers volunteering with relief effort witness harrowing scenes and are forced to flee a secondary eruption
Matt Goldsmith described panic as a fresh eruption sparked an evacuation of areas surrounding the Volcan de Fuego as he was helping with the ‘harrowing’ volcano relief effort in Guatemala
A British backpacker helping with the ‘harrowing’ volcano relief effort in Guatemala has described panic as a fresh eruption sparked an evacuation of areas surrounding the Volcan de Fuego.
A number of backpackers volunteered to help with the relief effort in the wake of Sunday’s eruption which left at least 99 people dead.
Matt Goldsmith, 22, was arriving in Alotenango, just over five miles from the volcano, when the thunderous activity began again on Tuesday.
‘There was a lot of panic… we had just arrived in Alotenango and had to turn around. A policeman told us the area was being evacuated,’ he said.
‘There was a traffic jam because the roads are not built for all the aid vehicles that have come to help.’
Authorities raised the death toll from the weekend’s eruption on Tuesday, as rescue teams continued the grim search for the missing.
Meanwhile, strong explosions blew ash more than 16,000ft (5,000m) above sea level, with volcanic material blown over settlements to the east and north-east.
‘We heard the eruption, it sounds a lot like thunder – every time I hear thunder I think ‘not again’,’ Mr Goldsmith said
‘The weather has also been a problem, the heavy rain is a concern as mudslides are a risk. We are very much in the wet season now.’
Mr Goldsmith joined volunteers transporting supplies to towns and villages near the volcano. He said there were many backpackers from around the world volunteering with the relief effort.
‘There have been a lot of ups and downs, some harrowing stuff and heart-warming stuff,’ he said.
‘We’ve been driving to the more isolated parts. We went to a village today where they did not have any running water and relied on rain water.
‘Now they are completely without water because of the ash, they don’t have food because all the crops are destroyed. The sulphur in the volcanic ash means they won’t be able to grow anything.
Mr Goldsmith joined volunteers transporting supplies to towns and villages near the volcano. He said there were many backpackers from around the world volunteering with the relief effort
‘I saw a woman who had miscarried as she got out of one of the towns and in Alotenango they had coffins lined up in the centre outside.’
According to relief workers, Sunday’s eruption blew a new hole in the side of the volcano, altering how it erupts significantly and raising the risk of deadly pyroclastic flows in previously unaffected areas.
Meanwhile, volcanic ash falling on nearby villages and towns has seen people told to stay out of the rain due to high levels of sulphur in the air.
This has hit the town of Antigua, where many of the volunteer relief workers are based.
Dean Kerlin, 32, from Londonderry, owns the Tropicana Hostel in the town from where a volunteer relief operation was being run.
‘It’s been a long couple of days. I’ve got a big van at the hostel we use for tours, we’ve been using it to take supplies from Antigua,’ he said.
‘Everyone’s been pulling together, the travelling community, all the backpackers and holidaymakers.
‘They have been donating their time and money to the cause, buying medical supplies and food and water for everybody who lost their homes.’
Dean Kerlin, 32, from Londonderry, owns the Tropicana Hostel (pictured) in the town from where a volunteer relief operation was being run
Along with volunteers from England, Sweden and Canada, he travelled to some of the smaller towns and villages to drop off supplies on Monday and Tuesday.
‘The worst situations I have seen are the people who have lost their homes, lost everything,’ he said.
‘They have come from little towns, they are pretty poor, they didn’t have an awful lot to begin with. A lot of them have lost family members.
‘I was chatting to a guy who was driving one of the vans with supplies, he had lost four or five family members – uncles, aunties, cousins – but he was still helping out.
‘He was fighting back tears while he was driving to the market to buy things.’
Mr Kerlin said he felt safe in Antigua, but added: ‘I’m not sure if that’s just naivety.’
While the volunteers’ immediate efforts are focused on delivering essential supplies to those affected by the disaster, there are concerns for the long-term impact on the area.
‘I don’t think the villages will be the same again,’ he said.
A soldier rescues a girl from a hole in an area affected by the eruption of Fuego volcano in Escuintla, Guatemala
A rescue worker carries a flock of farm birds rescued from homes destroyed by the eruption in El Rodeo
Rescue workers carry injured pets and livestock to safety in the aftermath of the deadly eruption
Thick gray ash covering the stricken region was hardened by rainfall, making it even more difficult to dig through the mud, rocks and debris that reached to the rooftops of homes
Rain often forced teams to retreat for fear of mudslides and boiling water flowing down the volcano’s slopes from dangerously hot volcanic gas and ash also posed a threat
Rescue operators said after 72 hours there was virtually no chance of finding anyone else alive
Volunteers are seen preparing food rations after Fuego volcano erupted in Alotenango, Guatemala, sparking new evacuations
In past disasters in which authorities determined there was no chance of finding survivors and further efforts to recover bodies would be too difficult, areas have been declared burial sites, the final resting place of the victims.
Asked about that possibility, the director of Guatemala’s disaster agency, Sergio Cabanas, said: ‘Not until the search efforts are over, and it would be left up to the people.’
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it released more than $253,446 from its global emergency fund to support frontline emergency efforts.
These funds will help ‘Guatemala Red Cross support 3,000 of the most vulnerable survivors for three months,’ they added.
In addition, the Mexican government said on Wednesday evening that it would send a team of medical specialists and, if necessary, transfer victims to hospitals in Mexico.
The 3,763-meter (12,346-feet) Volcan de Fuego is one of several active volcanoes among 34 in the Central American country. It lies near the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO world heritage site that has survived several major eruptions.