GUATEMALA — At least 62 people have been killed with dozens more missing after Mount Fuego erupted on Sunday in Guatemala, according to officials.<br /><br />Villages located along the mountainside were buried in volcanic ash, mud and rocks during the 16-hour eruption, the BBC reported.<br />Mt. Fuego is a stratovolcano, which are classic-cone shaped peaks built up from layers of ash and lava rocks, according to Smithsonian Magazine. <br />Stratovolcanoes have violent eruptions that launch columns of ash and scorching rock miles into the air. When these clouds collapse, they form deadly pyroclastic flows — avalanches of hot rocks, gas and volcanic ash. <br /><br />According to the BBC, around 1.7 million people have been affected by the eruption in four regions. <br />According to the head of the National Disaster Management Agency Sergio Cabañas, the town of El Rodeo was completely "buried."<br />The towns of Alotenango and San Miguel Los Lotes were also affected. Temporary shelters have been set up for around 3,000 evacuated residents.
