La Soufriere volcano has erupted

The National Emergency Management Organisation of St Vincent and the Grenadines (NEMO) has announced that the La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent erupted.

Minutes after tweeting that the volcano had moved into an eruptive state, the organisation's Twitter account tweeted: "Please leave the red zone immediately. La Soufriere has erupted. Ash fall recorded as far as Argyle International Airport."

In an earlier tweet at around 8.57 am on Friday, NEMO said there were plumes up to eight kilometres and ash was expected to fall within five minutes.

The country was put on red alert by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves on Thursday and evacuations from the red zone started.

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Newsday will bring you more information in subsequent reports.