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A soldier takes a rescued child covered with ash to a hospital after the Fuego volcano erupted violently in El Rodeo, Guatemala. Image Credit: Reuters

Guatemala: The death toll from the eruption of Guatemala's Fuego volcano rose to 33 on Monday after rescue workers recovered more bodies.

David de Leon, spokesman for Guatemala's disaster management agency, said several more bodies had been recovered in the rubble of villages on the volcano's southern flank, which bore the brunt of the disaster.

The previous toll was 25. Authorities had warned the death toll could rise as a number of people had been reported missing.

Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupted on Sunday for the second time this year.

The volcanic eruption spewed a river of red, hot lava and belched thick clouds of smoke nearly six miles into the air, according to the Conred, the government's national coordinator for disaster reduction.

The Conred confirmed late Sunday that the official death toll had increased to 25. It urged residents living near the volcano to evacuate immediately and warned residents of the towns of Chimaltenango, Sacatepequez and Escuintla to watch out for volcanic rocks and ash. 

The explosion stands to affect 1.7 million people, said Sergio García Cabañas, director of Conred.

 

More than 3,100 people have been evacuated from their homes while search and rescue efforts continue into the night, Cabañas said.

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Dozens were reportedly killed as Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupts for the second time this year. Image Credit: AFP
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