A Japanese volcano erupted on Saturday (September 27, 2014), injuring at least eight people, leaving more than 250 people stranded near the peak and forcing aircraft to divert their routes, officials and media said. A thick, grey cloud of ash rose into the sky above Mount Ontake and a witness said small rocks were being hurled into the air along with the ash. The number of injured was expected to rise, an official said. The Meteorological Agency said Mt. Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, erupted at around 11:53 a.m. (0253 GMT), sending smoke down the mountains south slope for more than three kilometers (1.9 miles). We observed the ash cloud spreading toward the south and reached more than 3 kilometers from the mountain, Japan Meteorological Agencys Sadayuki Kitagawa said in a news conference. There is possibility that the eruption continues on. Local residents within 4 kilometer boundary need to pay attention to volcanic stones, Kitagawa added. Local fire fighters said seven people were slightly injured with one person suffering serious injuries. Mt. Ontake is located some 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo. No nuclear power plants are located nearby.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 07:00:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015