Five people have been killed after one of the Philippines' most active volcanoes spewed a giant cloud of ash and rocks early Tuesday. They were climbing on Mount Mayon, some 212 miles (340 km) southeast of Manila, when the blast occurred at around 8 a.m. local time, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Of the five fatalities, four were German tourists, while the other was identified as Jerome Berin, their Filipino guide, the NDRRMC said. Joey Salceda, governor of Albay Province, told CNN affiliate ABS-CBN they were killed after being hit by falling rocks. He said they were part of a larger group scaling the volcano. Seven others, including an Australian, were hurt. The NDRRMC said a total of 27 hikers were on the volcano at the time and requested assistance.
