Official Guatemala volcano death toll rises to
Guatemala's Fuego Volcano releases ash and smoke more than a week after a violent eruption. The death toll from the violent eruption on June 3 has risen to 121, after the identification of five cadavers recovered from the devastated zone, a forensics institute said Wednesday. PHOTO | Johan ORDONEZ | AFP
What you need to know:
- The victims were identified in a temporary morgue in the southern city of Escuintla.
- Forensic specialists are still working to attach names to dozens of human remains recovered by local residents.
- More than 2,900 displaced people are continuing to shelter in 15 schools and community halls.
GUATEMALA CITY
The death toll from the violent eruption of Guatemala's Fuego volcano on June 3 has risen to 121, after the identification of five cadavers recovered from the devastated zone, a forensics institute said Wednesday.
The five bodies were those of young people aged two months to 19 years, said the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF). Two had been on the list of the missing.
The victims were identified in a temporary morgue in the southern city of Escuintla, where forensic specialists are still working to attach names to dozens of human remains recovered by local residents from an area devastated by a fiery flow of volcanic rubble.
The Fuego volcano, which is located 35 kilometres (22 miles) southwest of the capital, exploded on June 3 in a powerful eruption, sending rocks, ash and toxic gases down on the town of San Miguel Los Lotes and nearby villages, burying many homes and buildings.
More than 2,900 displaced people are continuing to shelter in 15 schools and community halls, waiting for transfer first to temporary wooden houses and then to more permanent housing in Escuintla.
A report from the government and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimated the damage inflicted by the catastrophic eruption at $219 million.
