Guatemala volcano eruption: DESPERATE search for survivors SUSPENDED as deaths reach 109
GUATEMALA officials were forced to call off their search for survivors on Thursday due to dangerous conditions for rescue workers as the death toll from the horrific Fuego eruption reached 109, it has emerged.
Guatemala volcano: Hundreds of people still missing
Inacif, the nation’s disaster and forensic agency, said the death toll had risen to 109 following the most violent eruption in the nation for 40 years.
The previous number of fatalities stood at 99 but was upped again after morgues received an extra 10 bodies.
Numbers for the final amount of deaths are set to climb further - an estimated 200 people are still missing following the devastation of the natural disaster.
David de Leon, a spokesman for the national disaster management agency, CONRED, instead residents should continue to steer clear from dangerous areas in the region.
Sandra Orizabal Diaz was a 37-year-old living near the village of San Miguel Los Lotes that was struck by debris and other materials after Fuego erupted.
Her family put her remains to rest in the city of Escuintla after they were found.
She was buried next to her husband, who was laid to rest the previous day.
Sandra’s father Pedro Orizabal insisted he said goodbye “with great pain”.
Further graves have been dug in the same cemetery as locals wait for further remains to arrive.
Prosecutors in Guatemala have demanded an investigation should take place into whether evacuation methods were followed properly when the devastating natural disaster begun.
The explosive nature of the eruption caught many in the Central American nation by surprise.
Many had very little time to evacuate.
Guatemala’s Public Ministry announced on Thursday the investigation will attempt to find out whether “the necessary protocols were activated that would allow for prudent and timely decisions”.
The activity of Fuego was being monitored on Sunday when it erupted, but officials initially declared an evacuation would not be needed.
An evacuation order was called later on however after the volcano launched a devastating explosion on surraounding areas.
The US is sending emergency aid to Guatemala following the devastating eruption.
Washington DC also announced aircraft were travelling to the Central American state to allow burned victims to be flown into Florida for aid.