Quito, April 6 (IANS/EFE) A powerful explosion in Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano kicked off an eruption lasting five minutes with emissions of pulverised incandescent rock and a column of ash that rose 10 km above the crater, the Geophysical Institute reported.

The blast came at 6:10 p.m. Friday, and the pyroclastic flows of hot pulverised rock poured down the volcano’s northwestern and northern ravines, the institute said.

At 6:16 came another eruption that lasted four minutes, while at 6:24 there was a slight tremor with continuous emissions, according to the institute, which added that during the day there were five explosions of moderate intensity.

The Geophysical Institute keeps a strict watch on the seismic activity of the volcano, whose eruption process began in 1999 and has been characterised by interspersing temblors of great activity with periods of relative calm.

Tungurahua, which rises 5,016 metres high in the central Ecuadorian Andes, is one of the more than 50 volcanoes in the country.