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 over 100.
Image: Reuters/L. Echeverria
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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 109 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' eruptions kill dozens
At least 75 people have been killed since Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego first erupted with little warning over the weekend. Almost 200 people are still unaccounted for as rescuers continue to battle dangerous conditions.
Image: Reuters/L. Echeverria
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.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/dpa/S. Billy
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.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Soto
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.
Image: Reuters/L. Echeverria
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.
Image: picture-alliance/Zuma Press/National Police Of Guatemala
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.
Image: Reuters/L. Echeverria
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.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Abd
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.
Image: Reuters/L. Echeverria
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"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.
"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.
