Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano erupted on Thursday (29 October), belching ash and smoke across blue skies, authorities reported. A spectacular column of ash erupted from the volcano at 8.57am local time. The volcano is located 50 miles southeast of the capital, Mexico City.

National Civil Protection Coordinator Luis Felipe Puente said in his Twitter account, ash and smoke rose 3,000 metres above the crater of the volcano, in the direction of the north east.

Mexico's National Centre for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred) reported that a total of 141 exhalations of low intensity in the last 24 hours have been reported, following a series of rumblings at the massive volcano in recent months. Mexico contains over 3,000 volcanos but only 14 are considered active.

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