Guatemala Volcano Erupts, More Than Two Dozen Dead
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A volcano in Guatemala has erupted for the second time this year, killing more than two dozen people and injuring hundreds more.
The Volcan de Fuego, or "volcano of fire," erupted Sunday, smoke spewed nearly four miles into the sky and heavy ash blanketed local villages.
Thousands of residents evacuated in villages near the capital, Guatemala City. Ash is covering an area where about 2 million of the country's 15 million people live. Rescuers struggled to reach rural areas cut off by the eruption, the biggest at this volcano in more than forty years.
"We are going right now to the presidential house to issue a declaration of a state of emergency," said Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales.
The international community is deploying rescue workers to aid in the recovery.
Officials in Guatemala fear the death toll could rise significantly with an undetermined number of people still unaccounted for.