Global General

Guatemala volcanic eruptions leave 1 death, 3 missing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-29 14:50

An American Airlines jet sits covered with ash from the eruption of the Pacaya Volcano on the runway at the International airport in Guatemala City May 28, 2010. [Agencies]

GUATEMALA CITY - The eruption of Pacaya Volcano left one person dead, 59 injured and three others missing, said Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom on Friday.    

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The volcano, located in San Vicente Pacaya town, some 45 km south of Guatemalan capital Guatemala City, threw up on Thursday night gases, ashes and incandescent rocks in the biggest eruption in the country in 12 years, the president told a press conference.    

The eruption affected an area of more than 100 square km，destroying more than 100 buildings, forcing some 1,600 residents to evacuate, and shutting down the international airport at the capital, the president said.    

Colom said the government had set in motion the emergency systems and started to assess the economic losses. But he expressed the confidence that his government is capable of handling any emergencies.    

As a large area around the volcano, including capital Guatemala City, was covered with a thick layer of black ashes, authorities are trying to clear the ashes.

President Colom asked the local residents to help clean the ashes to prevent them from blocking the drainage and causing flooding.    

Meanwhile, the international airport of La Aurora in Guatemala City had been shut down and schools suspended in the provinces of Guatemala, Escuintla and Sacatepequez since Friday.  

A volcano expert with Guatemala's Volcanology Society said there is still the possibility of another eruption of the Pacaya Volcano in the near future.