Guatemalan evacuees rest at shelter after alert for volcano eruption

Hundreds of people living on the slopes of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano have evacuated their homes after a huge eruption spewed lava and plumes of ash.

Central America’s most active volcano erupted on Monday morning, with conditions intensifying by nightfall and prompting authorities to issue the country’s second-most severe alert warning. By Tuesday, rivers of lava were streaming down the 3,763-metre volcano. Ash rose six kilometres into the red sky. Firefighters said they transported at least 350 residents of the El Porvenir and Las Lajitas villages to the eastward San Juan Alotenango municipality. Another eruption in 2023 pushed around 1,200 people to evacuate.