Ecuador volcano rumbles to life
From correspondents in Quito
August 22, 2003

ECUADOR'S Tungurahua volcano, in a state of simmering eruption since October 1999, rumbled to life overnight, sending a column of smoke and ash three kilometres high, the Geophysical Institute said.

The development followed reports from the institute on Wednesday that the volcano, in the country's central Andean region, had entered “a new phase or state of activity” signaled by a small sequence of earth tremors and gaseous and ash emissions over an extended period.

The latest activity followed 50 days of relative calm, since a similar eruption affected some 16,000 people in the area in early July.

The volcano, 5000m in altitude and 135km south of Quito, is one of Ecuador's most active.