28 May 2010 07:02:08 GMT
(Updates with one person dead)
GUATEMALA CITY, May 27 (Reuters) - Guatemala's Pacaya volcano erupted on Thursday, covering the capital with a cloud of black ash that closed the airport, forcing villagers to evacuate and reportedly killing one person.
Volcanologists measured plumes of ash reaching almost 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above the volcano's peak. Debris from the eruption rained ash and small rocks on the capital, coating the streets in a layer of black sand.
Police spokesman Donald Gonzalez said a local television journalist who had been reporting from the volcano died when it erupted and his head was crushed by falling rocks.
"We have 1,600 confirmed evacuees and 600 of them are already in emergency shelters," said Alejandro Maldonado, head of the country's disaster relief service, known as CONRED.
President Alvaro Colom told a news conference that three children aged 10, 9 and 7 were missing after the eruption.
Colom declared a state of emergency for the area near the volcano, which is 25 miles (40 km) from Guatemala City.
Civil aviation authorities closed the country's main La Aurora international airport.
"The sand is falling on the runway and we need to clear it before any planes can land for safety reasons," said Monica Monje of Guatemala's aviation authority.
Monje said officials would decide whether it was safe to reopen the airport by midday on Friday.
Pacaya, which is near Antigua where some of Guatemala's highest quality coffee is grown, has been continuously active since the 1960s but has not showered the surrounding area in small rocks and ash since 1998. (Reporting by Sarah Grainger; Editing by Bill Trott)