Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano registered a massive eruption

Volcano erupts near Mexico City

Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano registered a massive eruption, emitting a plume of ash and gas that reached an altitude of 2.4 miles. Note: video is silent. (June 18)

Mexico eruption: Volcano crater viewed from the air

 

11 July 2013 Last updated at 10:55 BST

Mexico's erupting Popocatepetl volcano, just east of Mexico City, has been spewing large clouds of ash and vapour into the sky. Latest video taken by a Mexican navy aircraft show plumes of smoke billowing out of its massive crater. The alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano, located some 80 km (50 miles) to the southeast of the capital, was raised to yellow phase three on Saturday. It is the third-highest caution on the centre's seven-step scale, and warns a change in activity in the 5,450m (17,900ft) volcano could provoke big explosions capable of sending incandescent fragments out over considerable distances. Fifty thousand people live in 24 towns surrounding Popocatepetl, whose name means "smoking mountain" in the Nahuatl Indian language.