At least 25 persons have been reportedly killed after Guatemala’s ‘Volcano of Fire’ erupted on Sunday, spewing lava into a village and sending smoke and ash billowing into the sky.

Witnesses say that lava poured through the fields and “buried” people – and there are indications the number of the is expected to rise.

According to Sergio Cabanas, head of Guatemala’s disaster agency, the river of spewed lava overflowed its banks and affected the El Rodeo village, injuring and burning people.

“Unfortunately El Rodeo was buried and we haven’t been able to reach the La Libertad village because of the lava and maybe there are people that died there too,” said Mr. Cabanas

He added that four people died when lava set a house on fire and two children were killed while standing on a bridge watching the eruption.

The death toll stands at 25, including at least three children while nearly 300 people  are believed to have been injured with over 3,100 others evacuated from nearby communities.

Volcan de Fuego – which means “Volcano of Fire” in English is 40 kilometres southwest of the capital, Guatemala City and close to the popular tourist destination, Antigua started exploding shortly before noon local time on Sunday.

A red alert has been set up in the areas most affected by the eruption which has sent ash billowing over the surrounding areas and has affected more than 1.7 million people in total.

President Jimmy Morales said he had convened his ministers and was considering declaring a state of emergency in the departments of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepequez.

Guatemala – which has a population of about 15 million people, has two other active volcanoes – Santiaguito in the west and Pacaya just 20 kilometres south of the capital.