Volcano in Guatemala emits kilometer-high ash cloud

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• The Volcán de Fuego (fire volcano) has erupted in Guatemala.
• The volcano ejected a column of lava, ash and rock up to seven kilometers high.
• Around 30,000 people in three districts were ordered to move to safety.

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In Guatemala, the Volcán de Fuego (volcano of fire) has erupted. A column of ash and gas up to seven kilometers high rose above the mountain, according to the Central American country's National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology. Hot streams of gas, ash and rocks flowed down the slopes of the 3763-meter-high mountain at high speed.

Around 30,000 people in three districts were urged to seek safety. They are in imminent danger, said Claudinne Ogaldes from the national disaster control authority Conred. Hundreds of people had already been brought to safety. School lessons were canceled in several communities on Monday and ash rain fell in surrounding districts.

The fiery volcano is located around 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Guatemala City and is the most active in the country. In 2018, at least 200 people died in a massive eruption of the volcano.