BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Ecuadorean authorities say 110 families have been evacuated from the vicinity of the Tungurahua volcano, which has been spewing molten rock, ash and lava since the weekend.

The spokeswoman of Ecuador’s Geophysics Institute said a column of vapor and ash up to four kilometers high characterized the moderate-to-strong eruption. She said Tuesday that a half-dozen villages are being showered in ash. But she had no immediate estimate on economic damage to local farming.

The volcano, located 135 kilometres southeast of the capital, Quito, has been active since 1999. In July and August of 2006, eruptions of Tungurahua killed at least four people, left two missing and forced the evacuation of thousands.

(Source: CNTV.cn)