Thousands of people on the Caribbean island of St Vincent are fleeing for their lives after a volcano erupted.
At 8.41am local time La Soufriere volcano erupted after hours of bumbling and steaming.
A huge plume of ash stretching five miles into the sky could be seen towering over the island.
Videos taken from the island show the enormous power of the volcano and the terror it has instilled in people below.
Residents can be heard remarking in wonder at the sheer enormity of the blast.
People in the northern areas on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent were ordered to evacuate their homes yesterday as the volcano threatened to blow.
Around 16,000 people are in the red evacuation zone.
The plume appears to be drifting towards the Atlantic Ocean.
UWISeismic Research, which monitors seismic activity in the Caribbean, tweeted: “Ash has begun to fall on the flanks of the volcano and surrounding communities including Chateaubelair and Petite Bordel. Some has gone offshore and has even reached the Observatory.”
Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said people living in so-called red zones in the northwest and northeast of the island needed to leave immediately as the volcano pumped out more smoke and steam.
“There is now in the country an evacuation order,” Gonsalves said in a message broadcast on social media on Thursday.
Ships were helping to evacuate people as night fell yesterday, with four cruise ships due to reach the island to help today.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which has a population of just over 100,000, has not seen volcanic activity since 1979.
An eruption by La Soufriere in 1902 killed more than 1,000 people.
Local media have in recent days also reported increased activity from Mount Pelee on the island of Martinique, which lies to the north of St. Vincent beyond St. Lucia.
