Houses became ovens, and villages crematoriums: Guatemala volcano buries villages under meters of boiling ash

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After the exceptional eruption – the deadliest volcanic eruption since 1902 – Guatemala’s rescuers are battling boiling ash to recover Fuego’s dead. They are working hard, but hope is slim as rescue teams report encountering eight- to 10-metre high mounds of hot volcanic ash changing some houses and villages into crematoriums.

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People carry the coffins of seven people who died during the eruption of the Volcan de Fuego. Photograph: Luis Soto/AP via The Guardian

Fuego Volcano eruption in Guatemala is now the deadliest since 1902 with a death toll rising to 75 people… But the final number is likely to be far higher, with scores of people missing from dozens of communities cut off by the devastation.

‘It is terrible up there’

In the rural community of San Miguel Los Lotes, a group of municipal firefighters pulled out out 15 bodies on Monday morning, including four children and their pregnant mother who didn’t have time to escape the powerful pyroclastic flows – fast-moving mixtures of gas and volcanic matter discharged by the exploding volcano.

Another rescue team recovered 14 people, including several children, and reported encountering eight- to 10-metre high mounds of volcanic ash. The most common cause of death was asphyxia, followed by burns.

“The houses became ovens, and the village a crematorium. There are no survivors,” says volunteer firefighter Francisco Flores.

“There is so much ash it’s like a massive beach but with trees and rocks thrown in, it’s terrible up there,” adds Flores while taking a break to eat a sandwich and close his eyes for a few minutes by the side of the road.

Even the maize crops and vegetation bordering the snaking highway are covered in a dense layer of the grey ash that has turned the lush landscape into something that resembles a post-apocalyptic scene from a science fiction film.

Beside Flores rests Angel Solis, another volunteer, who is comforting a terrified puppy the crew found hiding under a bed in a house where the rest of the family were killed. On Monday, rescue workers tenderly carried out to safety several injured dogs, a pig, ducks and chickens, but no humans.

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The ash-covered landscape in the aftermath of the eruption of Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala. Photograph: Juan Diego Alvarez via The Guardian

This entire hillside community has been devastated by Sunday’s eruption which took place without warning just before midday. The toxic mix of lava, ash and gas engulfed entire houses inside which dozens and dozens of people are feared to have been trapped as they prepared to eat lunch.

Those who managed to escape have sought refuge in makeshift shelters set-up in churches and schools in the nearby town of Escuintla.

That must have been terrifying! Look as the ash plume engulfs an ambulance:

Isabel Pineda, 25, spent all morning going from shelter to shelter looking for her younger sister who lived in a small house on the main road into San Miguel. But she could not find Patricia Pineda, 21, a business administration student, and her phone is switched off. No one has heard from her since the volcano erupted.

From the cordon, Pineda points out where the house was, but in its place is nothing but clouds of grey dust. Beyond the dust, the road is ruined and inaccessible. “No one is coming out of there alive, they should check in the morgue,” says one rescue worker in a hushed tone.

eruption of Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala ash, eruption of Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala ash pictures, eruption of Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala ash video
Image of an ash-covered town in the aftermath of the eruption of the Fuego volcano Photograph: Juan Diego Alvarez via The Guardian

Fuego – which means fire in Spanish – is located less than 50km west of the capital Guatemala City and is one of the most active volcanos in Central America. Sunday’s eruption was the second so far this year.

The build-up of energy inside the volcano generated an explosion that resulted in a second, lower crater forming alongside the spewing Fuego basin. The torrent of molten lava stretched at least five miles long crushing bridges, roads and buildings in its path. The lava reached record temperatures of about 700C.

Employing a mix of heavy machinery, shovels and picks, the rescue workers have cleared narrow paths in order to try and safely access houses, but 24 hours after the initial eruption a hundred or so homes in this village alone remain blanketed in volcanic matter and too dangerous to enter.

“Every time we lift off a metal roof a huge gush of steam rises out of the building,” rescue worker Juan Diego Alvarez tells the Guardian. “The ash is just too hot for us to work.” Nearby lie several pairs of abandoned burnt boots, melted by the boiling ash.

The rescue efforts have been hampered by further eruptions, poor visibility, rain and the unbearable heat trapped within the volcanic ash. The fate of dozens of smaller settlements constructed on higher plots around the volcano remains unknown as the conditions are too dangerous for rescuers to attempt to get close.

Authorities fear that heavy rains expected later this week could turn tonnes of ash into rivers of mud strong enough to hurl bodies and debris down the foothills. Yes zombie lahars are the next threat!

Meanwhile everything is grey and the morgues are filling up.

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Guatemala volcano: rescuers battle boiling ash to recover Fuego’s dead

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16 Comments

  1. How big cooperation companies (owned and operated by reptilian powerful loyal families) can steal your land with FAKE deed (a fake document). For reptilian agencies, “My land is my land. Your land is also my land”. They believe they own this Earth.

    The Devastating Effects Of The World’s Palm Oil Addiction
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO9EqtOc6Zg

    Even in California desert area near military base with their secret underground bases, they are evicting people from their properties.

  3. Why do people live near active volcanoes? Never can figure this out. Can never figure why people vote Democraps either?

    • True .

      I suppose because of they lived in a tribe or/and that for some people’s legacy.
      Others buy land maybe because it’s cheaper and people think that bad things only happens with others.
      I wanted to travel to the carribeans or somewhere the indian ocean, but at these days this would be stupidity. Shame..

      • Some homeless are reptilians. A reptilian homeless guy appears the following video at 12:08 shape-shifting with a machete on his hand. Stop the video often to see his shape-shifting. On this homeless property, there are some young girls’ panties hanging on a tree, and you can also find some kids’ stuff. Some girls and kids might have been abducted here and eaten by them.

        SHOCKING PLACE IN RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XjwNYazocI

  6. It used to be a capitol city of Myanmar is completely abandoned and become a ghost town. There are some rumors that there are series of secret underground tunnels under it. This ghost town is a kind of Area 51 in Myanmar?

    Massive City Is 6 Times The Size Of New York But Almost No One Goes Inside It
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic3OjyV1O98

  11. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim loses home to lava
    http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/06/06/hawaii-news/hawaii-county-mayor-harry-kim-loses-home-to-lava/

    He might be a privileged reptilian who has a water front second house burnt down and heavy karma. Election is all FAKE. The result has been decided long before the election by Illuminati reptilians who control this society. They have been pretending that people can participate to chose a mayor or whoever. I will never go voting!

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