Tokyo: A volcano in southern Japan erupted Wednesday with a heavy column of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) raised the warning level for Mount Aso to 3 on a scale of 5, warning hikers and residents to avoid the mountain. The warning was issued for the city of Aso and two in close proximity towns in Kumamoto prefecture, which is in the north-central region of the southern island of Kyushu.

NHK national television aired footage of a massive smoke column above the volcano. Yoshihiko Isozaki, the deputy chief Cabinet secretary in the national government, said it is still collecting information on the eruption.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said in Tokyo that no injuries have been reported so far and that local authorities are working to determine whether there are any climbers still on the mountain. According to the JMA, the eruption occurred at 11.43 a.m. local time at the No 1 Nakadake crater, with smoke billowing out of the peak in Kumamoto Prefecture.  Volcanic ash has blown more than 1 km from the crater and reached a height of about 3,500 meters, and pyroclastic flows could occur in areas within about 2 km, the JMA said

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