GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala's Volcano of Fire belched more ash and lava on Wednesday and continued raining debris on nearby villages one day after it began erupting.
Civil protection officials said various explosions in the volcano sent up columns of ash 500 feet (150 metres) high and caused two lava flows, one extending nearly a mile (1.5 km) down the mountainside.
Nearby residents were in no immediate danger, however, and the volcanic activity was slowing. No one was evacuated from 78 communities around the volcano, where about 25,000 people live, authorities said.
"The activity began declining from about 4 a.m., but the expulsion of ash and lava and explosions continue. It sounds like a plane engine or a locomotive," said Gustavo Chigna, a scientist at the Volcano Institute.
The volcano, among the most active of 33 in Guatemala, stands 40 miles (60 km) southwest of Guatemala's capital and its peak is about 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) above sea level.
Its last major eruption was in 1974, although the volcano regularly emits smoke and registers smaller explosions.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
