Saturday June 23 10:21 AM ET
Philippine Volcano Spews Lava, Big Blast Feared
LEGAZPI, Philippines (Reuters) - A Philippine volcano hurled out fountains of lava Saturday in what could be a prelude to a major eruption, forcing thousands of villagers to flee their homes, officials said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, they said.
The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology said ''the explosive discharge of lava'' reached heights of at least 160 feet and sent flaming rocks and gases tumbling down the slopes of the 8,000-foot Mayon volcano.
The institute said it had raised the alert level around the volcano from three to four, meaning ``a hazardous, explosive eruption is possible within hours to days.''
At least 5,000 villagers living in the shadow of the volcano in Albay province, 205 miles southeast of Manila, have fled their homes, provincial disaster management chief Fredric Daep told Reuters.
The volcano, which has been restive since January, has a history of eruptions, the deadliest occurring in 1814 when it buried a town under mud and rocks and killed 1,200 people.
It is one of 22 active volcanoes in the Philippines.
Since it began rumbling in January, the vulcanology institute has declared a 3.7-mile radius from around the crater as a no-man's land.
Mayon last erupted in February last year but no one was killed in its three-week-long series of blasts.