8,000 evacuated as Colombia volcano stirs
PASTO, Colombia - Galeras volcano in southern Colombia, near the border with Ecuador, began erupting late Saturday, and some 8,000 residents were ordered to evacuate, the Colombian Institute of Geology and Mines said.
A forceful eruption began at 7:10pm (0010 GMT), after which the regional alert system was raised to its highest level, local emergency relief coordinator Lina Dorado told AFP.
A "large amount of ash" was falling on the regional capital Pasto, reported the provincial governor.
The Civil Defence and Red Cross agencies has begun evacuation procedures to help the 8,000 people living on the slopes to get off the volcano.
The 4,270-metre Galeras has stirred sporadically in recent years. It erupted in January 2008, causing no casualties, but a 1993 eruption claimed the lives of nine people.
- AFP/ir
Galeras in July 2006. 
Thousands of people in Pastos, Colombia have been ordered to evacuate after the Galeras Volcano began to "explosively" erupt, according to reports. According to Colombia's Institute of Geology and Mines, the eruption began at about 7:10 p.m. local time (00:10 GMT). An estimated 8,000 people have been affected.

"There is a large amount of ash" falling from the sky, said Eduardo Alvarado, Pastos's provincial governor, adding that those "who live in urban areas, remain in their homes." The government in the area has been put on red alert and the Red Cross has also been called in to assist in aiding refugees. So far there are no reports of injuries damages, or deaths.

Galeras, which sits on the Colombian, Ecuador border, had recently erupted in 2008, but there were no injuries or deaths. In 1993, nine people were killed in an eruption. It's the most active volcano in Colombia and has been erupting regularly for at least a million years.