Ecuador volcano erupts, villagers flee
12:04
Published: 8:59AM Saturday May 29, 2010
Source: Reuters
Ecuadorean villagers fled their homes after the Andean nation's "Throat of Fire" volcano erupted, spewing ash that forced officials to reroute some flights and close an airport, authorities said.
In the second volcanic eruption in Latin America on Friday (Saturday NZT), loud explosions shook the ground and rattled windows near the volcano known as Tungurahua in the indigenous Quechua language, 130km southeast of Quito, officials said.
Residents close to the 5,020-metre volcano were evacuated from Cusua and Juive Grande villages, the president's office said in a statement.
Officials in the area said hundreds of families had been moved, while Ecuador's aviation authorities closed the airport in coastal Guayaquil and altered the routes of some flights to avoid the ash cloud.
"The eruptive column is some 10km high," Hugo Yepes, director of Ecuador's Geophysical Institute, told reporters.
Tungurahua has been classed as active since 1999 and had a strong eruption in 2008. It is one of eight active volcanoes in the country.
Yepes said ash plumes could "easily" reach the 10,700 to 12,200 metres at which long distance flights operate. "As such there should be at least a diversion for international routes," he said.
More:
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/ecuador-volcano-erupts-villagers-flee-3571440