CNN) —
Explosions are intensifying at Guatemala’s Fuego volcano as emergency crews
continue the search Wednesday for nearly 200 people reported missing.
More
pyroclastic flow — a nasty mix of ash, rock and volcanic gases that can be much
more dangerous than lava — is streaming down the volcano once again threatening
villages southeast of the volcano, Guatemala’s National Institute of
Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh) said in a
statement.
fuego
volcano Guatemala Volcano Death Toll Rises As Explosions Ramp Up
(Photo
credit should read Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)
“The
conditions are extremely critical at this moment,” the agency’s director Eddy
Sanchez said in a televised press conference on Tuesday.
Search and
rescue operations were temporarily suspended Tuesday when rescuers, police
officers and volunteers were forced to evacuate as strong explosions in the
volcano began.
Some
explosions sent ash plume 16,405 feet into the sky, according to Insivumeh.
The volcano
is about 25 miles southwest of the capital, Guatemala City, and near the
colonial city of Antigua.
Three days
after the Fuego volcano exploded, several towns remain covered in thick ash and
rescuers scramble navigating the steaming debris.
At least 192
people remain missing and at least 75 have died, according to Sergio Cabañas,
the executive secretary of Guatemala’s National Coordination for Disaster
Reduction.
Only 23
victims have been identified, including two girls ages 3 and 6, Guatemala’s
National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) said in a statement.
It’s unclear
whether some of the people missing are among the unidentified bodies, Cabañas
said.
“We are not
only talking about what has been described as the volcano’s biggest eruption
since 1974. We are talking about a tragedy, a national mourning,” Guatemala
President Jimmy Morales said.
Children
injured treated in the U.S.
Twelve
people severely wounded since the eruption will receive medical attention in
the United States and in Mexico, President Morales said.
Six children
will be treated for severe burns at Shriners Hospitals for Children in
Galveston, Texas, the hospital said in a statement.
The children
will fly to Texas aboard a U.S. Air Force plane by late Wednesday, Guatemala
and hospital officials said.
An emergency
medical team from the hospital had been deployed to Guatemala Monday and has
since then been treating the injured on the ground, it said in a statement.
Six other
patients will be transferred to Mexico, Morales said.
Volcano’s
aftermath by the numbers
The eruption
of Volcan de Fuego, which means fire volcano, was visible even from space as
satellite footage showed a massive dark gray ash cloud.
Here’s what
the disaster in Guatemala looks like, according to Guatemala’s government
disaster agency.
More than
1.7 million people affected by the volcano eruption
46 people
injured
3,271 people
have been evacuated
2,625 people
living in shelters
75 people
killed
192 people
missing
Desperate
search for survivors
Recovery
workers have had difficulty breathing in the hazardous conditions. And heat
from the ground has been so intense that the soles of some firefighters’ boots
were tearing off, and they were having to walk on wooden planks.
“It is very,
very difficult due to the fact that it’s very, very hot,” volunteer firefighter
Mario Cifuentes said. “The soil is very unstable. We cannot be walking around.
… The shoes, they’ve been completely destroyed because of the heat.”
A video
released by Guatemala’s National Civil Police shows an officer rescuing a baby
girl from a home covered in volcanic ash. The baby appeared to be safe and
unharmed.
Ash and
gases have covered large areas of ground, said Diego Ibarguen, who works for a
firefighter support organization and flew a drone over areas awash in ash.
“Basically
there’s no houses left, and to my assumption there’s nobody left there … except
the people doing the search and rescue,” he said. “The sad news is there’s a
bunch of recovery of bodies of children and adults there.”
CNN/New China TV
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