Volcano erupts in central Ecuador

Authorities evacuate villagers as the Tungurahua volcano spews rocks, gas and ash. Last Modified: 05 Dec 2010 02:21 GMT The volcanic activity began to subside after five hours on Saturday. But the official alert stayed in effect [AFP] Villagers have fled their homes after the Tungurahua volcano in central Ecuador erupted, spewing rocks, gas and ash that prompted officials to issue an alert and order the evacuation of nearby communities. Hugo Yepez, director of Ecuador's Geophysical Institute, says no one has been injured nor any village damaged. He says people within 8 kilometres of the volanco's center were evacuated Saturday as a precaution. The volcanic activity began to subside after five hours on Saturday, according to authorities. But the official alert stayed in effect. "There remains a constant column of ash emissions," according to a statement from the Polytechnic Geophysics Institute, Ecuador's main volcano monitor. The Tungurahua volcano, which means "Throat of Fire" in Ecuador's native Quechua language, has been rumbling off and on since seismic activity began to pick up in the area in 1999. Located 130 kilometres southeast of the capital, Quito, the 5,020-metre Tungurahua is one of eight active volcanoes in the Andean nation. Parts of Banos, a nearby town popular with foreign and local tourists, were among the places evacuated. In 2006, an eruption buried entire villages and killed at least four people.