"Volcano erupts in Ecuador forcing closure of Quito airport"

Monday, November 4, 2002

Volcano erupts in Ecuador forcing closure of Quito airport
The Associated Press


QUITO, ECUADOR - A volcano outside Ecuador's capital spewed a cloud of
hot ash Sunday, forcing the closure of its airport and a nearby highway.

No injuries were reported from the eruption of Reventador a 3,562 meter
(11,775-foot) volcano located 59 miles (95 kilometers) northeast of
Quito on the eastern slope of the Andes.

Alexandra Avarado of the Geophysical Institute said the volcano began
erupting at 7:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) with a larger blast at 9:00 a.m. (1400
GMT). The latter blast sent clouds of burning ash that reached the
Baeza-Lago Agrio highway.

Winds carried clouds of ash over the capital, forcing officials to
cancel all flights at Quito's international airport and to order schools
closed on Monday.

In the capital, people wore white medical masks as they walked the
streets. Emergency officials warned residents to remain indoors and
urged people to wear glasses and cover themselves in long sleeve shirts
and pants if they ventured outside.

``It was a very important eruption. Extremely large clouds of ash have
been spotted, at least seven miles (12 kilometers) high and the cloud is
heading toward the Inter-Andean corridor,'' Avarado said.

The eruption also threatened the Trans-Ecuadorean oil pipeline that runs
close to Quito.

There were no victims, and people living near the volcano had been
evacuated, Avarado said. The closest villages are San Rafael and Manuel
Galindo, with a combined population of less than 1,000.

The Ecuadorean capital sits in the shadow of the Pichincha volcano,
which began eruption cycles in 1999 and occasionally spews columns of
smoke over the city.


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