Four German tourists and a Filipino guide have been killed after one of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes started spewing large rocks and ash.
The group was climbing the Mayon volcano when an explosion happened at about 8am on Tuesday lasting just over a minute, the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a statement.
Seismologists described Tuesday’s event as a routine, steam-driven explosion that sent a thick cloud billowing more than 1,600 feet into the air, reports the LA Times.
Twenty seven hikers were on the volcano at the time. At least five others were injured, four Filipinos and a Thai national.
A 3.7-mile ‘permanent danger zone’ has been declared around the volcano. But local authorities told the French news agency AFP that they allow people to climb when there are no signs of an eruption.
By TravelMole UK
