Kamchatka volcano starts to erupt

ASTANA. December 17. KAZINFORM A powerful eruption began on Thursday at the 2,869-meter Bezymianny volcano in the Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, a local scientist said; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.

"The first blast at Bezymianny took place at 9:45 local time [21:45 Wednesday GMT]. The ash cloud rose at the height of more than 15 km [9.3 miles] above the crater, significantly higher than normal," a scientist with the local institute of volcanology and seismology said.

Though the volcano is located some 40 km [25 miles] from the nearest settlement and some 500 km [311 miles] from the region's capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it lies below inter-continental air routes linking the U.S. and Asia-Pacific countries.

He said that "an unusually large cloud, similar to a nuclear mushroom," was seen some 100 km [62 miles] from the volcano; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

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