< 'Everything Is A Disaster': Guatemala's Fuego Volcano Erupts, Killing At Least 69

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A volcano in Guatemala erupted Sunday, sending ash, lava and deadly gases down a mountainside near the capital. More than 20 people died. Hundreds are injured, and officials fear casualty numbers will rise. NPR's Scott Neuman has more.

SCOTT NEUMAN, BYLINE: Appropriately enough, the name of the volcano Fuego means fire in Spanish. And video from the scene makes it clear that Mount Fuego, one of the most active volcanoes in Central America, is living up to its name.

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CONSUELO HERNANDEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

NEUMAN: Consuelo Hernandez is from the village of El Rodeo, directly in the path of the eruption. On a road leading away from the volcano, she was interviewed by a reporter for Diario de Centro America newspaper. Covered in ash and obviously exhausted and distraught, she says she and others ran toward a hill to escape a mudslide triggered by the eruption. "Not everyone was able to get out," she says. "I think they were buried." It's too early to tell the scale of the disaster, but emergency officials in Guatemala say the eruption could ultimately affect more than 1 1/2 million people. Guatemala's president, Jimmy Morales, has declared three days of mourning for the dead. Scott Neuman, NPR News.

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