An erupting volcano in the far east of Russia has drawn crowds of tourists to witness the natural spectacle as it spews out clouds of ash almost two miles into the air.

The volcano, named Plosky Tolbachik, had been dormant for close to 40 years, but has now recently erupted, spilling hot lava down its flanks.

Molten rock from Plosky Tolbachik destroyed a nearby recreational base, and set fire to a nearby forest. According to Russian media reports, however, there were no casualties from the eruption.

Sergei Alexeyev, the director of a tourist company said: "On the territory of the Kamchatka Peninsula and in Russia in general there probably aren't any places where you can approach and directly look at the volcano crater where the lava is coming from, where the ash is erupting from.

"Yes, I think it is a unique thing," he added.

The natural spectacle, which is located in Russia's eastern Kamchatka region, erupted in an unusual way, with the lava and ash not flowing out of its main crater, but from the volcano's sides.

Some tourists have approached the flowing lava to have their pictures taken on a background of molten rock and burning trees. Other tourist groups have organised outings with off-road vehicles delivering tourists to the base of fresh ash and rock deposits from the eruption.

Igor Poluektov, who had come to see the volcano said: "We had certainly not expected to see something like this, we saw from a distance how it was flowing, but this view now is no less impressive, we are simply shocked."


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