Mount Tavurvur, an active volcano near the town of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, began erupting early Friday morning.
#Tavurvur this AM, #Rabaul district affected so far, @BurnetInstitute staff all ok, hoping all closer got out #PNG.
Photo of yesterday morning's Tavurvur eruption in Rabaul PNG (thanks to Gideon Kakabin)
Mount Tavurvur is located on the eastern end of New Britain, an island that is part of Papua New Guinea's East New Britain province.
Friday's eruption sent a column of ash, smoke, and lava 11 miles into the air, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday.
Mt #Tavurvur #volcanoe has erupted this morning in Rabaul, #PNG. First major eruption after 20 years.
Australian flights had to be rerouted around the volcano, according to Yahoo7 News.
Mt Tavurvur erupts #PNG #Rabaul #volcano
Mt Tavurvur erupted this morning#EastNewBritianProvince#PNG
One witness, Jason Tassell, captured the eruption on video.
Tassell posted the video to Facebook, and said he shot it just outside his room in the city of Kokopo.
People near the eruption told local media they could hear booms from the volcano, and that the area was covered in about a centimeter of ash.
Photo 2 Rabaul..Tavurvur