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| An ash cloud quickly spread after the Fuego's eruption |
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Guatemala
is evacuating tens of thousands of people after the Fuego volcano started
spewing ash and lava.
Volcanologists
said powerful eruptions were catapulting burning rocks as high as 1,000m
(3,280ft) above the crater and lava was flowing down its slopes.
Locals
reported how the roaring of the volcano shook windows and roofs in nearby
villages.
Experts say
the eruption of the Fuego, 50km (31 miles) south-west of Guatemala City, is the
biggest since 1999.
Head of
Emergency Evacuations Sergio Cabanas told the Associated Press news agency that
more than 33,000 people were being evacuated.
Officials
from the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and
Hydrology (Insivumeh) said lava was covering a 7km (4.3-mile) area on the south
and south-western side of the Fuego.
The
authorities recommended that air traffic controllers suspend flights in the
vicinity of the volcano, as the ash cloud emanating from its crater was
spreading quickly.
The
3,760m-tall (12,336ft) Fuego is one of Central America's most active volcanoes,
according to the Smithsonian Institute's Global Volcanism Program.
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