Rescuers today searched for four people believed buried under rocks spewed by Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, which forced thousands from their homes and killed one man in an eruption a day earlier.
Thousands of villagers fled after molten rock and ash enveloped homes in several farming hamlets tucked in at the foot of the volcano.
Tungurahua, which means "throat of fire" in native Quichua language and is located 80 miles (130 km) south of the capital Quito, has tossed out ash and rocks since July.
"People in the shelters are sad, they know they have lost everything," Marcelo Villagomez, the chief of Civil Defense in the neighboring province of Chimborazo, told Reuters.
"They are crying and looking at nothing." Schools and churches across the region served as refuge for about 4,500 displaced people, emergency officials said.
Police and emergency workers searched for the four missing around the tiny Palictahua village, where rock and ash covered several homes.
Television showed images of smoking rocks covering homes and blocking roads as villagers fled the area on foot with their belongings strapped to their backs. Dozens of peasants living near the crater were treated for burns and respiratory problems caused by the ash.
Local volcanologists said more explosions could be on the way as the volcano keeps up an eruption cycle that started in 1999 after decades of inactivity. A spokesman for President Alfredo Palacio said the government will evaluate damages and add to the funds already released after the last eruption in July.
He said the country is expecting help from the international community. No official figures have been released, but authorities said damage from destruction of villages and livestock and contamination of once fertile fields could reach millions of dollars.
Local flights resumed yesterday after domestic airlines suspended services a day earlier due to the clouds of thick ash rising from the volcano, an aviation official said.