Violent Mexican volcanic eruption sends smoke & ash 1.5km into sky (PHOTOS)

Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano erupted twice on Sunday, blasting a column of ash, smoke and gas more than 1.5km into the sky.

A level-two yellow alert warning remains in effect following a second eruption at 6:34pm which sent a column of ash in a north-northwestern direction, following the initial eruption at 5:55am.

Mexican authorities have warned people to stay away from the crater due to the danger of falling “ballistic fragments,” and called for extra attention to possible landslides. They also warned locals that ash may cover towns in the surrounding area.

Popocatepetl, which is located 70km southeast of Mexico City, lay dormant for decades before erupting in 1994. Since then, it has been quite active. Over the weekend, authorities registered at least 85 minutes of tremors and 18 explosions, as well as over 170 smaller exhalations accompanied by water vapor, gas and low amounts of ash.

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