An aerial photo taken from Yomiuri Shimbun's helicopter shows the volcano of Mt. Ontake, a volcano spewing gray smoke up into the sky in between Gifu and Nagano Prefecture, central Japan on Sept. 27, 2014. The voclcano, straddling the two prefectures, erupted for the first time in 7 years. Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a warning for residents and climbers to stay away from Mount Ontake. The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images
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Japan's Mt Ontake volcano erupts, killing one
A JAPANESE volcano popular with hikers has erupted, spewing ash and small rocks into the air, killing one woman and seriously injuring more than 30 others, officials and media said.
A thick, rolling, grey cloud of ash rose into the sky above Mount Ontake close to where TV footage showed hikers taking pictures.
Trekkers and residents were warned of falling rock and ash within a radius of four kilometres. The mountain draws walkers who come to admire the autumn colours on the trees.
"It was like thunder," a woman told public broadcaster NHK of the first Eruption at the volcano in seven years.
"I heard boom, boom, then everything went dark."
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