LiveMint.com - Neil Sands, 11/21/12
Mount Tongariro rumbled to life in a five-minute burst that put aviation authorities on high alert
A massive plume of ash billows up into the sky as Mount Tongariro erupts at Tongariro National Park, 300km north of Wellington, New Zealand on Wednesday. Photo: Stefan Keller/Reuters
Wellington: A New Zealand volcano used as a backdrop to The Lord of the Rings films erupted on Wednesday, spewing a column of ash three kilometres (1.9 miles) above the North Island, scientists said.Vulcanologists said Mount Tongariro rumbled to life at 1.25pm (0025 GMT), in a five-minute burst that briefly closed roads, put aviation authorities on high alert and sent nearby hikers scrambling for safety.
“It was completely unexpected, there were no warning signs beforehand,” a spokeswoman for official monitoring service GNS Science said.
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