Arenal Volcano
Erupts
Costa Rica's
most famous and
visited volcano,
the Arenal, put
on show for the
thousands of
visitors to the
arrea and
locals, as it
erupted, spewing
geysers of lava,
ash and toxic
gases from its
crater and
forcing the
evacuation of
the national
park where it is
located.
One visitor told
the television
news cameras,
"it was
spectacular at
first, but then
become
concerning".
The
1633-metre-tall
cone-shaped
mountain in
northern Costa
Rica shuddered
into activity at
shortly after
noon on Monday
issuing eight
successive
rivers of lava
that flowed down
its steep
slopes, the
Observatorio
Vulcanológico y
Sismológico de
Costa Rica (OVISCORI)
reported.
Nobody was at
risk from the
eruptions but
authorities as a
precaution
evacuated the
national park
that surrounds
the colossus,
located, two
hours north-east
of San José.
The Arenal is
one of Costa
Rica's major
tourist
attractions and
the park has
scores of
hotels,
restaurants,
nightclubs and
shopping centres.
No estimates
were given of
how many people
were inside the
park when the
eruption began.
Arenal's last
major eruption
in July 1968
killed 89
people. Smaller
eruptions have
occurred at
least six times
over the past 35
years.
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