The death toll from the highly active volcano that erupted near Guatemala’s capital on Sunday is rising.
As per The National Coordination for Disaster Reduction of Guatemala (CONRED), as the local time, the death toll had risen to 69, and 653 people have moved into shelters, Xinhua reported.
At least 69 people were killed after the volcano erupted Sunday, spewing a river of lava and plumes of smoke almost 6 miles into the air, according to Guatemala’s Institute of Forensic Sciences. Seventeen of the dead have been identified so far.
According to the CONRED, over 3,100 people were evacuated while the number of people missing is still unknown.
The Fuego Volcano exploded around noon local time and lava began flowing down in the afternoon.
The executive secretary of the CONRED Sergio Garcia Cabanas said that the village of El Rodeo is the most affected and it was practically buried.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said that a national “orange alert” has been activated in the region.
Image Source – Business insider