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Russian volcano spews smoke 6km high
October 11, 2013, 12:37 pm

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The Klyuchevskoy volcano is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world

A volcano in Russia’s Far East is throwing plumes of smoke and ash high into the air after the Kamchatka Peninsula is hit by a series of earthquakes.

The Klyuchevskoy volcano which erupts every two to three years has sent smoke and ash six km above sea level.

The latest eruption started in August this year after a series of quakes off Kamchatka’s eastern coast.

The volcano last erupted in August 2009 till December 2010.

Located in the Kamchatka Peninsula it is the highest in Eurasia and one of the largest active volcanoes in the world reaching an altitude of 15,584 feet.

The volcano is located 360 km north-east from the region’s capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

According to Sergey Senyukov from the Kamchatka Branch of Geological Survey the plumes of smoke reaching 200 km in length spread to the East of the Pacific Ocean but do not yet pose a threat to neighbouring towns and villages.

The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) assessed the Klyuchevskoy eruption as orange  — the second most dangerous level.

The same colour has been assigned to the Shiveluch and Karymsky volcanoes in the region.

Russian scientists are worried about the connection between the eruption and the series of quakes.

The magnitude of the earthquakes in the region ranged between 4.4 and 5.1 at a depth of 50-80 km.

Daria Chernyshova with inputs from Agencies