More than 190 missing after Guatemala volcano eruption
Tehran (KA) - At least 192 people are missing after the Fuego volcano in Guatemala suddenly erupted Sunday, according to Sergio Cabañas, the executive secretary of Guatemala's National Coordination for Disaster Reduction.
Towns were engulfed by thick, heavy ash from Sunday's sudden eruption. Hot gases, rock and ash raced down the volcano, killing dozens, erasing hillside communities, blocking roads and leaving behind steaming debris that rescuers had trouble navigating.
On Tuesday, Eva Ascón was coming to terms with a gut-wrenching scenario: Her parents, brothers, sisters, six nieces and nephews and other relatives have been missing since the volcano erupted near their homes. It seems unlikely that they survived.
Wearily, she asks that recovery workers keep going until her family's remains are found and that she has a chance to identify them."Give us time to identify the bodies in the morgue; don't take them away as unidentified," Ascón said, speaking to reporters two days after the eruption that Guatemalan authorities say left at least 72 dead.
Ascón lives in the capital, Guatemala City, some 25 miles from the volcano. The relatives she fears are dead lived much closer to the eruption.
"Even if there are only small bones of my people, I want them. ... I don't have even one member of my family," she said.
Source: PressTV