Orange smoke billows out of Congolese volcano

Clouds of orange smoke and ash billowed out of Africa's most active volcano Nyamulagira, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tuesday after it erupted spectacularly at the weekend.

Surrounded by smoke, the volcano -- located in the eastern Virunga National Park -- was still erupting but was of no threat to locals or the mountain gorillas living in the park, said Congo's Centre for Research and Natural Sciences.

"A fountain of lava, smoke and ash came out of a fissure on the side" of a flat area east of the volcano, said CRNS researcher Dieudonne Wafula.

Ash could be carried some distance by the wind, potentially polluting water and burning crops, he warned.

Nyamulagira, which explodes on average every two years, last erupted in January 2010.

(c) 2011 AFP