Volcano Nevado del Ruiz in mid-western Colombia erupted on Saturday, President Juan Manuel Santos said on his Twitter account.

"Citizens in the area may follow local authorities' recommendations, meanwhile all emergency plans are being launched," Santos said.

Residents of surrounding provinces of Caldas and Tolima are in the highest danger, said Carlos Marquez, director of the National Agency for Disaster and Prevention, adding that 2,300 people have been evacuated.

The eruption was similar to that in 1985, he said.

The eruption began at 17:40 local time (22:40 GTM), raising an 8-to-10 kilometer smoke column and forcing Colombian Civil Aeronautics to suspend commercial flights between cities of Manizales, Pereira and Armenia.

"Until this moment nobody is affected since Manizales and Ibague cities' alert systems were activated when the eruption occurred," Marquez said.

Volcano ashes have started to fall on nearby villages, but so far there has been no damage or victim report, Caldas Governor Guido Echeverri said.

Orange alert on the Nevado del Ruiz was raised on May 29, and has been bumped up to red after the eruption.

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