Fire Volcano covers Guatemala towns with rock, ash

Feb. 7, 2015: A tourist covers his face as he walks next to a car covered with ash from the eruption of the Fuego Volcano at Antigua Guatemala. (AP)

GUATEMALA CITY –  The Fire Volcano in southern Guatemala exploded incandescent rock and ash over surrounding towns Saturday.

David de Leon, spokesman for the national disaster preparedness office, said authorities had put area on alert, but no evacuations had been made so far.

Karina Lopez, a resident of nearby Antigua, said ash mixed with a drizzle to reduce visibility and the volcano continued to rumble.

The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction agency issued instructions urging people to take shelter, wear masks, cover water tanks and be aware of evacuation routes. Firefighters were standing by.

The volcano sits on the border of the Guatemalan states of Escuintla, Sacatepequez and Chimaltenango. It has a height of 3,763 meters (12,346 feet) above sea level.

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Fire Volcano covers Guatemala towns with rock, ash

Young Boyz look for improvement against Guatemala

HAVING survived a scare in their first outing, Jamaica’s Under-20 footballers will be aiming to really kick-start their CONCACAF Under-20 Championship when they tackle Guatemala inside the National Stadium starting at 8:00 pm today.

In the first game of the triple-header, Trinidad and Tobago play Aruba at 3:00 pm before the United States of America take on Panama at 5:00 pm.

Following their 4-0 mauling of Aruba, Panama lead Group A with three points ahead of Jamaica, T&T, USA and Guatemala, all on one point each. Aruba are pointless after one round.

Jamaica were scheduled to have a training session at Waterhouse Mini-Stadium last evening and head coach Theodore Whitmore was expected to use the opportunity to assess each player to see how they came out of the first match against T&T.

Whitmore pulled US-based striker Michael Seaton at the start of the second half due to discomfort in his back.

“Michael was feeling some back pain and he got a slight knock in the game, so I didn’t want to push him too much because we are looking at the games coming up,” Whitmore explained.

Jamaica enter the game against Guatemala knowing they must improve on a woeful display against T&T in order to keep their dreams alive of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in May.

Guatemala proved against USA that they will not be easily beaten and although they didn’t get too many chances against the Americans, they were organised enough to suggest that Jamaica will have to work hard to break them down.

Meanwhile, early group leader Panama’s mettle will be severely tested when they play group favourites USA. One American commentator said during the Guatemala match that the Panama/US game was the crucial match in the group that could possibly decide the group winner.

In the first encounter of the day, Caribbean champion T&T, still smarting from letting a two-goal advantage slip, should prove too much for a weak-looking Aruba unit.

– H Walker

–>

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Young Boyz look for improvement against Guatemala

Guatemala country profile

14 October 2014 Last updated at 11:46 A country of striking features and a strong indigenous culture, Guatemala’s natural beauty and powerful identity stand in stark contrast to its bloody past and troubled present.

Mountainous, heavily forested and dotted with Mayan ruins, lakes, volcanoes, orchids and exotic birds, Guatemala is one of the most beautiful countries in Central America.

Its indigenous population, the Maya, make up about half of the population. Mayan languages are spoken alongside Spanish, the official tongue. Many Guatemalans are of mixed Amerindian-Hispanic origin.

Guatemala’s beauty and strength of identity have not been accompanied by cohesion and prosperity.

Tourists visit the Tikal ruins, remnants of a great Maya civilisation which collapsed in around 900 AD

In 1996 it emerged from a 36-year-long civil war which pitted leftist, mostly Mayan insurgents against the army, which – backed by the US – waged a vicious campaign to eliminate the guerrillas.

More than 200,000 people – most of them civilians – were killed or disappeared.

Despite an official finding that 93% of all atrocities carried out during the war had been committed by the security forces, moves to bring those responsible to account started only after a long delay.

Social inequality is a major feature of Guatemala. Poverty is particularly widespread in the countryside and among indigenous communities.

Illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition are among the highest in the region, life expectancy is among the lowest and, in common with many of its neighbours, the country is plagued by organised crime and violent street gangs. It is a major corridor for smuggling drugs from South America to the United States.

Despite talks and international mediation, a long-running territorial dispute with neighbouring Belize remains unresolved. Guatemala lays claim to thousands of square kilometres of land.

Young Guatemalans play Chajchaay, an ancient Maya ball game. Several other aspects of Maya culture are being kept alive

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Guatemala country profile

Guatemala bus plunge kills dozens

9 September 2013 Last updated at 18:11 ET A fast-flowing river complicated the rescue operation At least 43 people have been killed after a bus plunged 200m (660ft) into a ravine in western Guatemala, rescue workers said.

The crash happened in San Martin Jilotepeque, some 65km (40 miles) from the capital, Guatemala City.

At least 40 people are thought to have been injured in the accident.

The bus had been travelling from Chimaltenango to San Martin Jilotepeque. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Mario Cruz, spokesman for the local volunteer fire department, said about 90 people had been on board the bus which had an official capacity of 54 passengers.

The dead included at least three babies, he added.

The mayor of San Martin Jilotepeque, Otto Vielman, said it appeared that the bus had crashed against a wall of rocks and then fallen from a cliff.

The rescue operation was hampered by a fast-flowing river and emergency crews installed cables to carry stretchers over the water. The long arm of a mechanical digger was also used to lift people across the river.

Local residents volunteered to help the rescue operation and pictures from the scene showed some onlookers in tears as bodies were lined up alongside the crushed wreckage of the bus.

Local resident Carlos Jose Perez said many of those on the bus had been taking farm produce to market.

“The people here are really in mourning,” he said.

Several of the injured were transferred to local hospitals and some to Guatemala City.

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Guatemala bus plunge kills dozens

Mayan frieze discovered in Guatemala

8 August 2013 Last updated at 13:39 The figures are richly decorated with quetzal feathers and jade Archaeologists working in a Mayan pyramid in Guatemala have discovered an “extraordinary” stucco sculpture depicting gods and Mayan leaders.

The frieze, which is eight metres long and two metres wide (26ft by six feet), shows three figures decorated with quetzal feathers and jade sitting atop the head of a mountain spirit.

It was found at the pre-Columbian archaeological site of Holmul.

Site director Francisco Estrada-Belli called it it a once-in-a lifetime find.

Snake Lords v Tikal

The frieze was found below a 20m-high (65ft) pyramid which was built over it in the 8th Century.

“The preservation is wonderful because it was very carefully packed with dirt before they started building over it,” Mr Estrada-Belli said.

The sculpture is believed to depict the crowning of a new Mayan leader in about AD590.

It also bears an inscription made up of 30 glyphs, which was deciphered by Harvard University expert Alex Tokovinine.

The inscription says that the carving was commissioned by the ruler of a nearby city-state, Ajwosaj ChanK’inich.

The archaeologists say the frieze and its inscription shed light on a classical period of Maya rule in which two rival kingdoms, Tikal and the Snake Lords, fought for control of the region.

Mr Tokovinine says the inscription suggests that Ajwosaj, who was a vassal of the Snake Lords, came to the site to re-establish the local political and religious order after Holmul, which had supported the Tikal kingdom, had switched sides.

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Mayan frieze discovered in Guatemala