Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano sending up 2-mile cloud of ash and gas

HUAMBALO, Ecuador (AP) – Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano has been putting on a dramatic show, spewing lava from a cauldron-like crater and launching towering clouds of ash and gas.

The country’s Geophysical Institute said Sunday the column of ash reached a maximum height of about 2 miles in recent hours, while it hurled blocks of glowing rock about a mile down its slopes.

The 16,480-foot peak is about 85 miles south of Quito, the capital, and close to the tourist center of Banos. It’s been periodically erupting since 1999.

Ecuador Tungurahua Vo_Vros (3)

Incandescent lava bombs are ejected to the upper slopes of the volcano Tungurahua during an eruption as seen from Guadalupe, Ecuador, late Saturday, March 5, 2016.Tungurahua is 16,480 feet (5,023 meters) high and has been active since 1999.(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Ecuador Tungurahua Vo_Vros (1)

A woman stands next to her cat at the doorway of her house as the Tungurahua volcano spews a column of ash during an eruption in Huambalo, Ecuador, Saturday, March 5, 2016. Tungurahua is 16,480 feet (5,023 meters) high and has been active since 1999.(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Photos: CNN / AP / AP

Newsletter Sign Up

To get our free biweekly newsletter. Receive information about Latin American news in BC and in the world..