Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano belches glowing rock, ash

MEXICO CITY – The Popocatepetl volcano outside Mexico City has spewed glowing rock and dumped a dusting of ash over nearby towns.

Mexico’s national disaster prevention agency says the volcano east of the capital sent a column of ash 2 miles (3 kilometres) into the air.

Incandescent rocks landed more than a mile (2 kilometres) down the volcano’s slope late Tuesday. The civil defence agency in Puebla state also reported ash fall in towns northeast of the peak.

Some 25 million people live within about 60 miles (100 kilometres) of the crater of the 17,797-foot (5,426-meter) stratovolcano.

Popocatepetl has been erupting periodically since 1994.