During the last week in Latin America man-made and natural disasters came in a rush.

Heavy pollution was again an issue for a venue for some events in the 2016 Olympics — Rio de Janeiro's Jacarepagua Lagoon, which hugs the site of the city's future Olympic Park.

In Chile, a wildfire on Chile's coast spread quickly and threatened the outskirts of Valparaiso less than a year after a similar blaze wreaked havoc, while in Mexico a Canadian woman died when a whale breached and hit the side of the boat she was riding after a snorkeling tour near the beach resort of Cabo San Lucas.

Members of the cast and crew of the French reality show "Dropped" coped with tragedy after 10 of their number died from the midair collision of two helicopters in Rioja province of Argentina.

The Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica erupted by spewing out huge clouds of ash and gas.

In Guatemala, news workers demanded an investigation into the killing of two fellow journalists who were killed by gunmen on a motorcycle while walking in a park in the southern town of Mazatenango.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rode with his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, in Ortega's Mercedes Benz SUV during a visit to participate in a march to show solidarity with Venezuela.

Not all was disaster or politics.

Poor farmers in Bolivia trudged with their donkeys along a snow-covered road in La Cumbre mountain on the outskirts of La Paz.

In Mexico, a charro practiced his lasso skills while rower Abraham Levy arrived in Cancun after rowing across the Atlantic from Huelva, Spain. In Mexico City, musician Robert Plant performed with The Sensational Space Shifters during the 16th edition of the Vive Latino music festival.

Argentina's Boca Juniors met Venezuela's Zamora in a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Buenos Aires.