300 evacuated as Guatemala volcano erupts

The so-called Volcano of Fire was spitting hot ash thousands of metres into the air. PHOTO: TWITTER

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) - Authorities evacuated 300 people threatened by an erupting volcano in southern Guatemala on Friday (May 5), emergency services said.

The so-called Volcano of Fire was spitting hot ash thousands of metres into the air, the National Volcanology Institute said.

David de Leon of the National Disaster Reduction Coordinator body told reporters 300 people were evacuated as a precaution from the village of Panimache.

The village lies near the foot of the 3,763m volcano, some 35km south-west of the capital.

Ten schools in the southern Escuintla district suspended classes due to falling ash.

A major eruption of the volcano in February 2015 forced the capital's main airport to be closed.

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