Volcano erupts in central Japan
Several evacuated from mountain lodge, reports of injuries
Mt Ontake (File photo)
A volcano erupted in central Japan on Saturday and, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK, there were reports of injuries while others were evacuated from a mountain lodge.
Mount Ontake, which sits on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures on the spine of mountains that runs down Honshu, erupted shortly before noon.
In a YouTube video shown on NHK, climbers can be seen moving quickly away from the peak as an expanding plume emerges above them.
Japan's meteorological agency raised the alert level for Mt. Ontake to three on a scale of one to five. It warned people to stay away from the mountain, saying debris could fall up to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away.
