Five killed when volcano erupts in Phillipines
Bulusan volcano, also in the Phillipines, was the site of a large eruption in 2011. Bulusan volcano spewed a huge ash column, sending thousands of people fleeing their homes. More than 700 remained at evacuation centres February 23 awaiting advice on when it is safe to return, aid officials said.
Five climbers were killed and seven others injured after one of the Philippines' most active volcanoes erupted Tuesday morning.
Witnesses reported the group of tourists and guides was scaling Mount Mayon, about 200 miles south-east of Manila, when the blast occurred, CNN reported.
Rocks and ash spewed from the volcano, killing four German tourists and a Filipino guide.
Seven other climbers, including an Australian, were injured when they were hit by the enormous rocks, authorities said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 27 hikers were on the volcano at the time and some of those injured were in a critical condition.
A guide Kenneth Jesalva told ABS-CBN TV the rocks were "as big as a living room" and came raining down.
"The injured are all foreigners … They cannot walk. If you can imagine, the boulders there are as big as cars. Some of them slid and rolled down," he said.
"We will rappel the rescue team, and we will rappel them up again," he said, Fox News reported.
Mount Mayon is regarded as the most volatile of more than 50 volcanoes in the Phillipines.
The names of those killed have not been released.