TOKYO: A volcano erupted on a remote Japanese island on Friday, blasting black smoke thousands of metres into the sky and forcing residents to flee by boat and an airline to re-route flights.
A pyroclastic flow of super-heated gas and rock rolled down the side of Mount Shindake, on the southern island of Kuchinoerabujima, and into the ocean.
A 72-year-old man suffered minor burns to his face but there were no reports of other injuries among the island’s 137 residents.
“It sounded like dynamite had exploded, and the house shook,” one resident told TV Asahi.
Others described a smell of sulphur and clouds of smoke that blacked out the sky. Ash blanketed lower slopes and fell like snow on Yakushima, 12 km to the east.
Residents, many elderly and carrying boxes and bags, fled by boat to the closest neighbouring island of Yakushima, an hour away, where they disembarked shortly before sunset. Several struggled to control excited dogs on leads.
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