Bezymyanny volcano on Kamchatka spews ash at 10 km height.
The intensification of the giant mount's activity was registered at 00:30, local time (16:30, MSK on May 31). The most active phase lasted for 20 minutes, scientists say. During this period the volcano was spewing ash that stretched in a plume towards the Sea of Okhotsk (west of the volcano). According to specialists, the ash plume has stretched for 20 kilometres. A small ash fall was registered in the Kozyrevsk settlement (40 km from the volcano) on Kamchatka. A hot rock and mud flow came down the volcano.
The aviation code Red has been given to the volcano. All concerned services have been informed about the danger that the volcanic ash may present for aircraft, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) reported.
The eruption's intensity has subsided, as compared with the initial phase, but the giant mount maintains activity, specialists noted.
Bezymyanny is one of 29 active volcanoes of Kamchatka. Its height is about 2,800 metres above sea level. Its eruptions are explosive. They occur one or two times a year and may last from several hours to several days. In recent years scientists have managed to predict the periods of its activity intensification rather correctly.
Bezymyanny is an active stratovolcano in Kamchatka. The volcano's name means "nameless," and it was considered to be extinct before the 1955 eruption.
Bezymyanny is located on the southeast slope of the extinct volcano Kamen. Its greatest eruption happened in 1955-1956 which lowered the top of the mountain by about 200 m (600 ft). The surrounding landscape of the mountain was changed by a lateral blast that flattened the area with thick ash and pyroclastic flow-like materials, Kazinform cites Itar-Tass. See www.itar-tass.com for full version.