In the Philippines five mountain climbers were killed and eight were injured when a sudden volcanic eruption sent down rocks that were described as ''big as cars''.
“I heard a sound similar to a sudden drop of coconuts. Then I heard noise of cascading rocks. But the thick fog clouding us that time blinded us from seeing the falling debris,” 21-year-old tour guide and mountaineer Kenneth Jesalva told the Philippine Star in a hospital bed interview.
Nearly 30 climbers were taking part in a trek to the basin of the Mayon volcano, which lies on the Philippine island of Luzon. Despite its tragic outcome, Tuesday’s eruption was not considered out of the ordinary, having erupted an estimated 48 times over the past 400 years, according to Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Several climbers who were not injured in the blast remained stranded atop the 8,070 foot tall mountain and were awaiting rescue by helicopter and rope.
"The injured are all foreigners ... they cannot walk,” Albay provincial Gov. Joey Salceda said. “If you can imagine, the boulders there are as big as cars. Some of them slid and rolled down. We will rappel the rescue team, and we will rappel them up again."
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