#BreakingNews Death Toll Rises to over 69 People after Volcano Erupts Sunday in Guatelmala - Please Pray

A Guatemala volcano eruption occurred on Sunday, June 3, 2018.  The death toll has risen to over 69 with many still missing and probably killed. Columns of smoke and ash went 10 km into the air, covering the area with ash. Many were engulfed in floods of searing ash and mud.  There is no electricity in the hardest hit areas of Los Lotes and El Rodeo, so most searching continued only until sunset. Warning came too late, residents say, only a few have been identified so far because the intense heat of the volcanic debris flows left most bodies unrecognizable. "It is very difficult for us to identify them because some of the dead lost their features or their fingerprints" said Fanuel Garcia, director of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences. "We are going to have to resort to other methods ... and if possible take DNA samples to identify them."  Bodies were so thickly coated with ash that they looked like statues. Hot gas, ash and rock roared into villages, just below the mountain's flanks. " The fast-moving flows overtook people in homes and streets with temperatures reaching as high as 700 C. 3,271 people had been evacuated. (Edited from CBC)
Vatican News Released: Pope Francis said he is praying for the dead and for all those affected by a powerful volcanic eruption in Guatemala in which at least 69 people have died.
A telegramme addressed to Archbishop Nicolas Thevenin, the Apostolic Nuncio in Guatemala by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the Pope, said Francis was “deeply saddened to learn of the news of the violent eruption of the Volcano of Fire, which has claimed numerous victims, caused enormous material damage and affected a significant number of people who live in the area”.

In it the Pope said he is praying for the eternal repose of the deceased and conveys his condolences to family members mourning the loss of their loved ones.

Please Pray as the search still continues....