Volcanic Eruptions Hit Communities in Guatemala and Ecuador

Guatemala City, May 29. -The eruptions of two volcanoes in Guatemala and Ecuador have hit communities forcing thousands of people to flee their homes while disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over wide regions.

The Pacaya volcano, in Guatemala, began erupting lava and rocks on Thursday afternoon, blanketing the country's capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport. President Alvaro Colom declared a "state of calamity."

More than 2,000 people were evacuated from communities closer to the Pacaya, which is about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Guatemala City. A television journalist perished under a shower of burning rocks and three children were reportedly missing on Friday night.

The 2,552 meter (8,373 foot) high mountain spewed a thick cloud of ash plume over 1,000 meter (3,000 feet) high over 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the northwest. On Saturday morning the La Aurora airport was still closed.

The last time the Pacaya erupted was in 1998.

Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, known as the "Throat of Fire", prompting evacuations of hundreds of people from nearly villages.

The National Geophysics Institute said hot volcanic material blasted down the slopes of the volcano, and ash plumes soared 10 kilometers (6 miles) above a crater that is already 5,023 meters (16,479 feet) above sea level.

The wind blew ashes over the city of Guayaquil, forcing the authorities to halt air traffick out of it and from the capital, Quito, to nearby Peru.

Eruptions at Tungurahua, 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of Quito, buried entire villages in 2006, leaving at least four dead and thousands homeless. (Prensa Latina)