Seventy kilometres from Guatemala City lies the ruin of a town that was once known as San Miguel Los Lotes. On June 3rd 2018, it was destroyed when the eruption of Volcán de Fuego released a lahar that buried the town in ash and killed many of its inhabitants. The area has now been deemed too dangerous for habitation and to this day it lies silent and abandoned.

A child’s sandal found at the ruin.

The possessions of the dead and displaced still litter the site. Some claim that over one thousand bodies could still be buried beneath the soil here, though few continue the search.

Don Abraham, a beekeeper from San Miguel los Lotes, still works in the shadow of the volcano. Though he escaped with his life, he lost his home and his brother to the disaster.

Fuego looms smoking over what was once San Miguel los Lotes.

A local farmer who continues to work in the shadow of the volcano.

Padre Ruperto of Escuintla Cathedral, who gave Las Exequias to the human remains that were able to be recovered from the ruin.

Nur, a local volunteer firefighter, was one of the first responders in the aftermath of the eruption.