Rescuers have spent a third day searching a lava and ash ravaged landscape in Guatemala for survivors and victims of a volcanic eruption at the weekend.
The Fuego explosion on Sunday has left an estimated 85 people dead and 200 missing.
Volcan de Fuego, which means "Volcano of Fire", shot thick plumes of ash into the sky that rained down on residents and sending superheated pyroclastic and lava flows through nearby towns.
A thick layer of still smoldering ash and volcanic rock blanketed the tiny hamlet of San Miguel Los Lotes, with only the roofs of some homes sticking out.
Guatemala's seismological, volcanic and meteorological institute Insivumeh heightened its warnings after the volcano erupted again yesterday, forcing evacuations and sending rescue workers scrambling for cover.
But today, rescue workers were back at it with pick axes, metal rods and torches in hand, risking their own lives in search of victims or survivors.
Bulldozers were on stand by to help.
"We can only work in places where we can stand on the roofs of houses ... because the ash is very hot.
There are places where you stick the pickaxe or rod in and we see a lot of smoke coming out and fire and it's impossible to keep digging because we could die," said rescuer Diego Lorenzana.
Elsewhere, rescuers plunged metal rods into the quickly hardening ash that sat atop what was previously a roadway in a desperate search for trapped vehicles.
The extent of the devastation is widespread.
Cecilio Chacaj, a spokesman for the municipal firefighters department, said the bodies of another nine victims had been recovered today.
An elderly man, who was featured in a video shortly after the eruption that showed him in a state of shock, covered from head to toe in ash and mud, died from the severe burns he suffered.
This brings to 85 the number of dead.
Guatemala's national disaster management agency, CONRED, said 1.7 million people have been affected by the volcanic eruption, Fuego volcano's biggest in four decades, and over 12,000 have been moved from the affected area.
Volunteers are distributing humanitarian aid, including clean drinking water, to victims.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said they have released more than 250,000 Swiss francs (€215,000) from its global emergency fund to support frontline emergency efforts.
These funds will help "Guatemala Red Cross support 3,000 of the most vulnerable survivors for three months," they added.
The 3,763 metre Fuego Volcano is one of several active volcanoes among 34 in the Central American country.
It lies near the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO world heritage site that has survived several major eruptions.
