A Philippines volcano spewed a column of ash nearly a mile (1.5 kilometres) into the sky late on Tuesday, raising fears of a major eruption. Officials said they were considered increasing the alert level after Mount Bulusan in the central Philippines belched ash an hour before midnight (1600 GMT).
The Philippine Institute of Seismology and Vulcanology (Phivolcs) said the ash was unlikely to cause any harm.
But researcher Jojo Cordon said more earthquakes had been recorded in the area recently, a possible sign that the volcano may be about to erupt more powerfully.
He said the ash column may have been created by a reaction between water and hot materials, a "possible sign of rising magma".
A four-kilometer (2.4-mile) exclusion zone is already in place around the 1,565-meter (5,133-foot) volcano, which is 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of Manila.
Cordon said Phivolcs is considering raising the alert level for Bulusan from level one to level three, indicating "moderate unrest." The highest alert level is level five, indicating an actual eruption of lava.
He said the institute will be closely monitoring the volcano for further activity.
Bulusan had a series of similar explosions in 1994 and 1995.
Source: Agence France-Presse
