Rescuers struggled to reach rural residents cut off by a volcanic eruption that killed at least seven people and injured 20 near Guatemala's capital, and authorities feared the death toll could rise with an undetermined number of people unaccounted for.
The Volcan de Fuego, Spanish for "volcano of fire," exploded in a hail of ash and molten rock shortly before noon Sunday, blanketing nearby villages in heavy ash. Then it began sending lava flows down the mountain's flank and across homes and roads around 4 p.m.
Eddy Sanchez, director of the country's seismology and volcanology institute, said the flows reached temperatures of about 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (700 Celsius).
Dramatic video showed a fast-moving lahar, or flow of pyroclastic material and slurry, slamming into and partly destroying a bridge on a highway between Sacatepequez and Escuintla.
Sacatepezuez television published images of a charred landscape where the lava came into contact with homes. Three bodies lay partially buried in ash-colored debris from the volcano, which lies about 27 miles (44 kilometers) from Guatemala City.
Other videos from local media showed residents walking barefoot and covered in muddy residue.
"Not everyone was able to get out. I think they ended up buried," Consuelo Hernandez, a resident of the village of El Rodeo, told the newspaper Diario de Centroamerica.
"Where we saw the lava fall, we ran to a hillside" to escape, she added.
Hundreds of rescue workers, including firefighters, police and soldiers, worked to rescue any survivors and recover any more bodies amid the still-smoking lava.
Firefighters said late Sunday that they had seen some people who were trapped in the area, but roads leading there were cut by pyroclastic flows and they had been unable to reach them.
Amid darkness and rain, the rescue effort was suspended until early morning, municipal firefighters' spokesman Cecilio Chacaj said.
National Disaster Coordinator Sergio Cabanas said seven people were confirmed dead and an unknown number were unaccounted for.
Among the fatalities were four people, including a disaster agency official, killed when lava set a house on fire in El Rodeo village, Cabanas said. Two children were burned to death as they watched the volcano's second eruption this year from a bridge, he added.
Another victim was found in the streets of El Rodeo by volunteer firefighters, but the person died in an ambulance.
At an ad-hoc morgue in the town of Alotenango, at least three bodies lay covered with blue sheets.
Guatemala's disaster agency said 3,100 people had evacuated nearby communities, and ash fall from the eruption was affecting an area with about 1.7 million of country's 15 million or so people. Shelters were opened for those forced to flee.
"Currently the volcano continues to erupt and there exists a high potential for (pyroclastic) avalanches of debris," the disaster agency said late Sunday via Twitter, quoting Sanchez, the director of the seismology and volcanology institute.
It added that he said authorities began to send bulletins on the situation starting at 11:30 a.m.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said he would issue a declaration of a state of emergency to be approved by Congress and urged people to heed warnings from emergency officials.
Ash fell on the Guatemala City area as well as the departments of Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango and Escuintla, which are in south-central Guatemala around the volcano. Streets and houses were covered in the colonial town of Antigua, a popular tourist destination.
Aviation authorities closed the capital's international airport because of the danger posed to planes by the ash.
One of Central America's most active volcanos, the conical Volcan de Fuego reaches an altitude of 12,346 feet (3,763 meters) above sea level at its peak.
AP Newsroom
Mon Jun 04 2018
A volcano southwest of Guatemala's capital has erupted for the second time this year, setting off loud explosions and spewing ash nearly six kilometres into the sky. (AP Photo)
KBS umum syarat pelepasan cukai latihan sukan
Pelepasan ini akan diperluas meliputi perbelanjaan yuran mengikuti latihan sukan.
Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Melaka meninggal dunia
Allahyarham Zaidi Johari yang berusia 54 tahun menghembuskan nafas terakhir akibat serangan jantung sekitar pukul 8.15 pagi ini.
Peluru berpandu terkena sebuah tapak di Isafahan, Iran
Letupan kedengaran di lapangan terbang di bandar Isafahan di Iran tetapi puncanya masih belum dapat dipastikan.
Letupan terdengar di Isfahan, Iran - Laporan
Satu letupan kedengaran di barat laut bandar Isfahan di Iran, lapor agensi berita FARS yang memetik sumber tempatan.
Raffi Ahmad mengaku pernah minum air basuhan kaki ibu
"Benar, saya minum (air basuh kaki). Minggu hadapan semua pekerjaan yang hilang saya dapat balik." - Raffi Ahmad
Tiada lagi ulang tayang Piala FA
Semua video ulang tayang perlawanan Piala FA dari perlawanan pusingan pertama akan dibatalkan mulai musim depan.
Niaga SPOTLIGHT: Financial Inclusion via Innovative FinTech
12% of Malaysia ie; 7 million Malaysians, primarily from rural areas are unbanked - meaning they cannot access any financial services.
This is a dire need in Malaysia due to the country’s fast growth rate in mobile banking and e-money transactions, which quadrupled to RM800 billion in 2021.
Moreover, the existence of financial inclusion gaps among underserved communities such as women, gig workers, and lower-income earners requires significant attention.
Niaga Spotlight speaks with Nisa Ismail, CEO, Sedania As Salam Capital Sdn Bhd (SASC) about the latest in Financial Inclusion via FinTech to help close socioeconomic gaps, especially in rural areas.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaSPOTLIGHT
This is a dire need in Malaysia due to the country’s fast growth rate in mobile banking and e-money transactions, which quadrupled to RM800 billion in 2021.
Moreover, the existence of financial inclusion gaps among underserved communities such as women, gig workers, and lower-income earners requires significant attention.
Niaga Spotlight speaks with Nisa Ismail, CEO, Sedania As Salam Capital Sdn Bhd (SASC) about the latest in Financial Inclusion via FinTech to help close socioeconomic gaps, especially in rural areas.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaSPOTLIGHT
Niaga AWANI: Pendidikan AI sekolah rendah: Pembangunan masa depan digital
Di sekolah rendah di Malaysia, pelajar akan diperkenalkan kepada asas AI dalam mata pelajaran baharu yang dipanggil Teknologi dan Digital bermula dari 2027. Apakah persiapan yang diperlukan setiap sekolah untuk memastikan pelahar lebih muda dibawa masuk ke dunia penggunaan AI yang bertanggungjawab?
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
Niaga AWANI: MOSTI sasarkan penubuhan 900 pemula niaga menjelang 2026
Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi (MOSTI) menyasarkan untuk memudahkan penubuhan sehingga 900 pemula niaga kecerdasan buatan AI menjelang 2026 melalui program perintis AI Sandbox 2024.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
Klopp terima kenyataan kurang ancaman punca Liverpool tewas
Mohamed Salah kurang menunjukkan prestasi terbaiknya sejak kembali dari kecederaan hamstring.