QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador is spewing out red-hot rocks and billowing coarse ash.
The South American country’s Geophysical Institute says the increased activity began Sunday afternoon. It says the volcano has thrown pyroclastic boulders up to a mile from the crater, and there have been at least four earthquakes in the area.
The 16,480-foot (5,023-meter) volcano is in a sparsely populated area about 84 miles (135 kilometers) southeast of Ecuador’s capital, Quito. It has been active since 1999.