Official Guatemala volcano death toll rises to 121

Official Guatemala volcano death toll rises to 121

Apart from the deaths, the eruption of Volcán de Fuego caused an estimated US$219 million worth of damage.

Volcán de Fuego erupted on June 3, 2018. (AFP pic)
GUATEMALA CITY:
The death toll from the violent eruption of Guatemala’s Volcán de Fuego volcano on June 3 has risen to 121 after the identification of five cadavers recovered from the devastated zone, a forensics institute said yesterday.

The five bodies were those of young people aged two months to 19 years, said the National Institute of Forensic Sciences. 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, erupted on June 3 in a powerful eruption, sending rocks, ash, and toxic gases down on the village 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 US$219 million (RM889 million).

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