AUSTRALIAN COUPLE PHIL and Linda McNamara were on holiday in Papua New Guinea when they got wind of a local volcano that seemed about ready to blow its top.

So they took a boat out to take a look at Mount Tavurvur, an active volcano on the island of New Britain. What they got was a holiday video they will never forget.

The eruption threw lava and ash hundreds of feet up into the air and sent a shock wave which is clearly visible.

It’s estimated that the boat was about 4km away from the volcano at the time of the explosion, given the time it takes the sonic boom to reach those filming.

Papua New Guinean TV station EMTV reports that the island’s Volcano Observatory Centre had not detected any signs of eruption leading up to the blast on 29 August.

Locals had said that they didn’t receive any warning of the eruption. The volcano has previously devastated the provincial capital of Rabaul. In 1994 it was buried under ash.

There had been irregular earthquakes in the area this year, making it difficult to predict an eruption.

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