Israel Rushes Aid to Guatemala After Deadly Volcano Eruption

(VIDEOS & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Israel says it has delivered food, blankets and medicine to Guatemala after a volcano erupted there, killing at least 62 people.

The charred landscape left behind by the erupting Volcano of Fire was still too hot in many places Monday to pull out bodies so thickly coated with ash that they looked like statues. First-responders in helicopters managed to pull at least 10 people alive from the ash drifts and mud as the death toll rose to 62 and was expected to go much higher.

Ash was piled up to the rooflines of some homes and rescuers used sledgehammers to break through the roofs of some completely buried houses to see if anyone was trapped inside.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry says Monday it extended at least $10,000 in assistance through its embassy in Guatemala and that a further assessment will be held with local authorities later.

Israel and Guatemala have grown increasingly close in recent years. Last month, Guatemala followed the U.S. by moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, becoming the second country to do so. Israel considers Jerusalem its capital. The Palestinians seek its eastern sector as capital of their hoped-for state.

The Volcan de Fuego, or “volcano of fire,” exploded in a hail of ash and molten rock Sunday, blanketing nearby villages in heavy ash and sending lava flows down the mountain’s flank.

ZAKA has a 50-member search and rescue team operating in the country:

כ- 50 מתנדבי זק״א בגואטמלה מסייעים בהתפרצות הר הגעש במדינה.

מספר צוותים רפואיים הומניטארים מטעם ארגון זק״א פועלים במקום בשעות האחרונות במתן סיוע וארגון החילוץ, בשיתוף הצוותים המקומיים. pic.twitter.com/11WzRPzC1h

— זק״א (@zakaHQ) June 4, 2018

“The ZAKA local team, consisting of 45 volunteers, went in the morning to the area together with the rescue force to help the hundreds of residents who were injured by the eruption of the volcano,” Rabbi Yosef Doron, Chief Rabbi of Guatemala and ZAKA team leader, said. At this point the team is working very carefully and the place is still dangerous and there are alerts for another eruption” as is explained in the accompanying video, and this is why the team members are limited in what can be done at present.

Mati Goldstein, who heads ZAKA’s International Team adds, “We remain in constant touch with the local ZAKA team and search & rescue personnel. In the event it is required, we will send an additional team”.