''We have had one tragedy after another,'' Mr. In a television interview tonight, he described the ravages of the volcano as an ''immeasurable tragedy.'' Colombia's President, Belisario Betancur, spent most of the day flying over the devastated area in a helicopter. He also said the eruptions had come as Colombians were trying to prepare an emergency plan to deal with such a disaster. Herd said extensive lava flows from Andean volcanoes are uncommon because the lava from them is thick. Herd, an American vulcanologist who wrote his doctoral dissertation in 1974 on Nevada del Ruiz, said the disaster, in terms of deaths, injuries and property damage, ''will rank as one of the worst.'' But in terms of volcanic violence, he added, ''if 10 is the worst, I suspect this will be a 5 or a 6.''ĭr. Spanish explorers recorded the last known eruption of the volcano in 1595. The United Nations Disaster Relief Organization said it had information that 4,000 bodies had been recovered.Īn official of the hospital in Armero estimated that at least 90 percent of the town, six miles south of here, had been destroyed. But Artemo Franco, a regional Red Cross director who spent most of the day visiting the stricken area, said, ''We're talking about 20,000 dead.'' Eduardo Alzate, the Governor of Tolima state, which encompasses the disaster area, said at least 15,000 people had died. The mud slides poured into surrounding rivers, causing three to overflow.Įstimates of the death toll varied. There were also unconfirmed reports that three or more villages in the area had disappeared under the tons of mud and rocks loosened by the heat of the eruptions. Authorities said the floods had buried most of the town of Armero, population 25,000, and devastated much of Chinchina, with 70,000 people. Towering walls of mud swept through the valleys surrounding the 16,200-foot Nevada del Ruiz volcano, 85 miles northwest of Bogota. A snow-capped volcano in northern Colombia that had not erupted in nearly 400 years came to life overnight in a brilliant, explosive burst, touching off floods of raging water and mud that officials feared had swept at least 15,000 people to their deaths.
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