The disaster is over for local residents, increased activity of the volcano Fuego. The sudden eruption occurred on June 4 and covered nearby towns. Already know about the 62 dead. Authorities are warning that the number of victims could increase significantly, because of ash and lava rescuers can’t get to remote villages.
One of the communities affected the most, is the town of El Rodeo. Its inhabitants tell about the trap, which turned out to be their neighbors and friends. Lava flows, clouds of ash and burning gases covered the settlement in a moment. Many people are not able to get out and either died or were reported missing.
«We were at a party celebrating a child’s birthday, when one of the neighbors started calling us on the street. We went and saw the lava that rushes down the slope. People don’t believe what was happening, and when we started trying to leave the city, streams of hot lava flowed through the streets,» says Hilda Lopez, eyewitness of the events.
In the confusion the woman lost sight of the mother, who apparently failed to get out of town. Husband Lopez also lost relatives during the eruption of the volcano. His father was buried alive in his house.
Meanwhile, the specialists of the National Institute of forensic medicine of Guatemala said that the number of victims has exceeded 60 people. According to the Director of the state organization , Fanuele Garcia, most of the victims are residents of the settlements of El Rodeo and Los Lotes. Managed to identify only 13 of the victims, since most of the bodies terribly mutilated. Temperature of 700 degrees Celsius does not leave living space for the victims.
«We had trouble identifying the bodies because many of the victims lost their appearance and fingerprints. We have to use other anthropological methods and to take DNA samples to identify them,» said Garcia.
So here in Guatemala, the Fuego volcano eruption just made 🌋 and it’s pretty bad … #volcandefuego pic.twitter.com/pSL7BJgBIY
— Rainbow Pie ♣ (@CaPinkiePie) June 4, 2018
The Guatemalan authorities have been criticized for not organized a timely evacuation of the population. About the threat of eruption was first reported in April 2018 and scientists have repeatedly warned officials of the danger. However, despite this, the Guatemalan authorities argue that the eruption was a «surprise«. According to them, on 3 June, all was calm and the threats from the volcano were reported.
Witnesses said that when the eruption began and the city became covered with ashes, emergency services is primarily engaged in evacuation of officials. According to local residents, the trucks rescuers deliberately ignored pleas for help and drove past people.
Experts fear that the death toll could number in the hundreds. The number of victims has exceeded 300 people, and the exact number of missing is now unknown.
