After lava flows from the Plosky Tolbachik volcano blocked a rural road used by tourists visiting Kamchatka, emergency workers have organized patrols to prevent human casualties.
According to Itar-Tass, the local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry organized the patrols due to an influx of tourists and adventurers attracted by the volcanic eruption, which started Nov. 27 and has been ongoing ever since.
No casualties have been reported so far, the report said, although lava flows have destroyed a tourist camp, a scientific outpost and a nearby wood.
Emergency workers have said that they will continue the patrols "until the eruption stops," which could take at least a month, Interfax reported.
On Monday, volcanologists told Itar-Tass that lava flows from Plosky Tolbachik had stopped advancing and that local towns and villages weren't under threat.
The lava fields surrounding the volcano currently stretch over 13 square kilometers and are up to 20 meters deep, the specialists said.
Plosky Tolbachik, which last erupted in 1976, is 3,085 meters high and located 343 kilometers north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital.
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