Costa Rica's Turrialba volcano belched a column of gas and ash upwards of 6,000ft into the air on Monday (4 May).

An explosion on Monday afternoon lasting 28 minutes emanated from the volcano in central Costa Rica and ash reached parts of the capital San Jose some 30 miles away.

Costa Rica's international airport was reopened on Tuesday morning after the eruption of the nearby volcano blanketed runways with ash, forcing its closure overnight. Ash can affect the safety of flights during take-off and landing as well as damage engines.

The Turrialba volcano spewed thick black clouds of ash into the sky, a volcanologist for the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Obsivori), Eliecer Duarte, said.

"Yesterday's event at 3.20pm lasted 28 minutes. In 20 minutes the ash spread 6.2 miles and reached the other camera which is in Irazu, towards the south east. It rose vertically more than 6,561ft and spewed different sized material. Some stayed on the summit and other finer material flew distances reaching the central valley."

Last month, the volcano's most powerful eruption in two decades was recorded forcing the evacuation of residents from the surrounding area.

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