An ash cloud that erupted on Thursday from the Ebeko Volcano on the Kuril Islands in the Russian Far East could threaten the health of local residents, a spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry said.
The volcano, which lies 8 km to the north west of the town of Severo-Kurilsk on Paramushir Island, ejected a 400-meter-high cloud of ash and steam on Thursday.
"There is a faint odor of hydrogen sulfide in the city," the spokesman said, adding that the gas concentration was not life threatening. Locals have been recommended to wear gauze masks while outdoors.
There have been two known eruptions of the Ebeko volcano; one in 1859 and the last in 1934. The resulting sulfur emissions caused mass poisoning among local residents and loss of cattle.
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, January 13 (RIA Novosti)
