Scientists and park guards were forced to leave one of the Galapagos Islands on Friday after the eruption of the archipelago's largest volcano.
Lava spewed down the sides of the Wolf Volcano, which first erupted on Wednesday, as it released clouds of ash over the Pacific Ocean, Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute reported.
Images circulated by the Ecuadoran government show glowing lava piercing through the predawn darkness.
A cloud of gas and ash rose to 3,793 metres above sea level, but there was no immediate danger to populated areas, located on the opposite side of Isabela Island, the largest in the Galapagos chain.
But the Environment Ministry said eight people, including national park guards and scientists doing field work on pink iguanas living on the volcano’s slopes, were told to leave the area.
The 1,701-metre volcano is one of several active volcanoes in the Galapagos, which lie about 1,000 kilometres from mainland South America.
The volcano last erupted in 2015.