Wednesday, 06/06/2018 17:05 (GMT+7)
The death toll from the devastating eruption of Guatemala’s volcano of fire has risen to at least 69 and is expected to rise.
(Photo: AFP/ Images)
The agency says in addition that, 46 people were injured. Nearly 2,000 people are in shelters and more than 3,200 were evacuated from the areas near the volcano west of Guatemala city.
Volcanologists report the eruption, which sent ash up to 10km into the sky, is now over.
Guatemalan authorities put the death toll at 69, but officials said only 17 had been identified because the intense heat of the volcanic debris flows left most bodies unrecognizable.
“It is very difficult for us to identify them because some of the dead lost their features or their fingerprints” from the red-hot flows, said Fanuel Garcia, Director of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences.
“We are going to have to resort to other methods … and if possible take DNA samples to identify them.”
A lack of electricity in the most heavily hit zone makes safely searching at night impossible.
The volcano has registered a number of minor eruptions over the years, and no evacuations were ordered, as scientific experts reported the activity was decreasing./.
Compiled by BTA