Residents in the state of Colima, Mexico have been forced to evacuate their homes as one of the most active volcanoes in Central America started to violently erupt on Friday spewing a large plume of ash and thick black smoke into the sky.
The Colima volcano known as the volcano of fire has been erupting slowly since early September.
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RT reports:
More than 300 people were ordered on Friday to evacuate from two villages in the foothills of Volcan de Fuego, the 3,839-meter mountain which towers over the states of Jalisco and Colima.
#IMPORTANTE Perímetro de exclusión del #VolcánElColima se mantiene en 7.5 kms en #JALISCO y 12 kms en Colima @GobiernoJalisco @PcSegob pic.twitter.com/fVI7G5uLP0
— Protección Civil JAL (@PCJalisco) October 1, 2016
A timelapse taken from a webcam observing the peak shows its most recent fiery outburst, raining molten rock and ash on the surrounding area.
#VolcanDeColima #VolcanDeFuego Imagen del Volcán de Colima, hace algunos minutos (vía @webcamsdemexico ): pic.twitter.com/AfdCXkUpk3
— Emmanuel Lazos (@Emmanuel_Lazos) October 1, 2016
Late Friday, Colima State Governor Jose Ignacio Peralta ordered people to evacuate from the nearby villages of La Becerrera and La Yerbabuena because of lava and noxious gases being emitted by the volcano.
Members of the National Civil Protection, Mexico’s Army and the State Civil Protection Unit have been deployed to transport residents to emergency hostels away from the danger, according to the local government website.
People are also being warned to stay away from rivers and ravines close to the volcano, for fear the lava could take a path of least resistance and rush downhill.
Niamh Harris