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Japan’s Mount Aso volcano erupts, prompting warnings

  • Mount Aso, a tourist destination on the main southern island of Kyushu, sent plumes of ash 3.5km high, the Japan Meteorological Agency said
  • It warned of a risk of large falling rocks and lava flows around the crater, and ash falls are expected to shower nearby towns

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Volcanic fumes billow from Mount Aso as it erupts in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. Photo: Kyodo
A volcano erupted in Japan on Wednesday, blasting ash several kilometres into the sky and prompting officials to warn against the threat of lava flows and falling rocks, but there were no reports of injuries or casualties.
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Mount Aso, a tourist destination on the main southern island of Kyushu, sent plumes of ash 3.5km (2.2 miles) high when it erupted at about 11.43am, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It raised the alert level for the volcano to three on a scale of five, telling people not to approach, and warned of a risk of large falling rocks and pyroclastic flows within a radius of about 1km around the mountain’s Nakadake crater.

A photo taken from a helicopter shows Mount Aso erupting on Wednesday. Photo: Kyodo
A photo taken from a helicopter shows Mount Aso erupting on Wednesday. Photo: Kyodo

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that there were no reports of casualties.

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Local police said there were no reports of people injured or missing as of Wednesday evening, and that 16 people who had gone hiking on the mountain earlier on the day came back safely.

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