Guatemala: eruption of the Fuego volcano, more than 1000 inhabitants evacuated

BET À DAY

More than a thousand people were evacuated to Guatemala on Thursday after the eruption of the Fuego volcano, near the capital and the most active in all of Central America, according to authorities . 

The eruption began Thursday morning and caused fiery clouds – mixtures of gas, water vapor and debris at very high temperatures which descend the slopes at very high speed -, raising fears for the safety of the surrounding populations.< /p>

A total of 1,054 people living in five neighboring villages have been evacuated, Oscar Cossio, director of the Coordination for Disaster Reduction (Conred, civil protection), told a press conference.< /p>

According to Conred, about 130,000 people live under the threat of the Fuego volcano, a colossus 3,763 meters above sea level located just 35 km from the capital Guatemala.

The director general of the Institute of Guatemalan volcanology, Edwin Rojas, however, announced Thursday evening “a decrease in the activity of the volcano”.

Earlier, Conred had indicated that the eruptive column, composed of gas and ash, rose up to 6,000 meters above sea level.

When the Fuego volcano last erupted in December 2022, Guatemala's international airport had to be closed, as well as a busy road between the tourist town of Antigua Guatemala and the south of the country.

Police forces prohibited passage on this same road on Thursday afternoon.

On June 3, 2018, a fiery cloud emitted by the volcano had buried the village of San Miguel Los Lotes, leaving 215 dead and as many missing.

In Guatemala two other volcanoes are active: those of Santiaguito ( west of the country) and Pacaya (south).