Dozens of climbers caught in the middle of deadly volcanic eruption

A picture of Mount Mayon volcano during the eruption of deadly Tuesday (Allan Impérial/AP) were killed five mountain climbers and others injured when a sudden volcanic eruption in the Philippines sent down rocks "as big as automobiles."

"I heard a sound like a sudden drop of coconuts. Then I heard the noise of the waterfall of rocks. But the dense fog clouding us that time we blinded from seeing debris falling, "21-year-old Mountaineer and guide Kenneth Jesalva Philippine Star said in an interview from hospital bed.

Nearly 30 mountaineers were taking part in a trek in the basin of the Mayon volcano, which is located on the Philippine island of Luzon. Despite its tragic outcome, Tuesday's eruption was not considered out of the ordinary, having erupted an estimated 48 times in the past 400 years, according to Renato Solidum, Chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and seismology.

Many climbers who were not wounded in the blast remained stranded at the top of the mountain of 8,070 feet tall and were awaiting rescue by helicopter and rope.

"The wounded are all foreigners ... can not walk," Albay provincial gov. Joey Salceda said. "If you can imagine, there are no boulders as big as cars. Some of them slipped and rolled down. We will rappel the rescue team, and they rappel again. "

That Mayon volcano is the stuff of local legend, with Philippine folklore telling a love story Romeo and Juliet type that surrounds two individual who committed suicide at the base of the volcano.

But the recent history of the volcano is far from a love affair, with a series of deadly eruptions that take place.

More recently, 2010 eruption briefly sent thousands of nearby residents running for cover. In 2006, an eruption and accompaniment of rains caused a lahar (mudslide) that killed about 1,266 people. And in February 1993, an equally unexpected eruption from Mayon volcano killed 77 local farmers.

Salceda said that he plans to ban any future climbs up the mountain, which has remained a popular destination despite the regular eruption. There is also a trail that leads to the heart of the climbers from the volcano crater. That trail is reportedly littered with rocks and other debris from past eruptions.

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