KEY POINTS:
Galeras volcano in southern Colombia, near the border with Ecuador, began erupting yesterday, prompting authorities to order about 7000 residents to evacuate, the Colombian Institute of Geology and Mines says.
Ash was falling on the regional capital, Pasto, a city of 500,000.
The 4270m Galeras has stirred sporadically in recent years. It erupted in January 2008, causing no casualties, but a 1993 eruption claimed the lives of nine people.
