2 Killed as Volcano Erupts in El Salvador

A volcano in western El Salvador erupted Saturday, sending a column of ash 50,000 feet into the air. Two farmers were killed when chunks of earth and boiling water flowed down the slopes.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of three communities in the shadow of the Ilamatepec volcano, which towers near Santa Ana, the country’s second largest city, 40 miles from San Salvador, the capital. El Salvador’s geological study center said the volcano spewed heavy rocks as far as a mile from its crater.

“The volcano has entered an eruptive phase that consists of ashes and gases,” Interior Secretary Rene Figueroa said.

Ilamatepec, the largest of the country’s 23 volcanoes, has been increasingly active since July 2004, but had not erupted since 1920.

It was unclear how many people had been ordered to leave their homes. Figueroa said that as many as 10,000 people live close to the volcano, but that most areas were not evacuated.

Emergency response officials said two farmers died and two other residents of the coffee-growing town of Palo Campana were missing.

The ground was smoldering when soldiers arrived to assist in the evacuations. Ash had destroyed coffee crops and damaged trees in surrounding forests.

Small bodies of water were steaming and bubbling from the heat and the ground was covered in ash. Problems with landslides worsened as afternoon rains pelted the area.

“We have had an eruption of moderate magnitude,” President Tony Saca said during a visit to the country’s national emergency response headquarters. But he added that “there was no lava.”

“Everyone is helping, first to save lives and get people out, because we don’t know what is going to happen,” he said.

Figueroa said air force flights over Ilamatepec “confirmed that it emitted a column of ash that reached 50,000 feet high.”