Ecuador volcano spews 6-mile ash column

QUITO (Ecuador): Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano has spewed a 6-mile (10-kilometer) column of ash after a powerful, five-minute explosion that shot pyroclastic material onto its northern and northwestern flanks. Ecuador's geophysics institute said Friday's blast occurred at 6:10pm local time and was followed by a second, four-minute explosion and five lesser tremors. The 16,480-foot (5,023-meter) volcano, nearly 90 miles (140 kilometers) south of Quito, revived on Feb. 1, with eruptions that affected a third of Ecuador's provinces and temporarily closed a regional airport. Tungurahua has been erupting sporadically since 1999. In 2006, a pyroclastic cloud killed four people and left two missing.