Volcano wakes in Russia's northeast

The Shiveluch volcano is becoming active in Kamchatka, Bering Sea peninsula in Russia's extreme northeast.

The laboratory for active volcanism of the Volcanological Institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences' Far Eastern branch reported a pyroclastic lava eruption of rare force out of ejected rock on the south slope today. The flow is coming down at 17 to 22 kilometres/hour, a steam and ash cloud above it up to 1.5 kilometres high.

The eruption badly endangers hikers, who have flocked to the Shiveluch as they do every summer, warn laboratory experts.

The Shiveluch, one of the largest Kluchevsky group volcanoes, is 3,283 metres high. It became active, May 7, 2001, after a quiet spell of 37 years. The latest eruption was on this year's May 5, with an ash cloud 2.5 km high ejected on a single occasion, accompanied by a lava flow 25 km long.