Volcano erupts in Guatemala

A long-simmering volcano exploded with a series of powerful eruptions outside one of Guatemala’s most famous tourist attractions, hurling thick clouds of ash nearly two miles high, spewing rivers of lava and sparking evacuation orders for more than 33,000 people.

Guatemala’s head of emergency evacuations, Sergio Cabanas, said the evacuees were ordered to leave 17 villages around the Volcan del Fuego, which sits about six miles south west of the colonial city of Antigua, home to 45,000 people.