Fish kill hits towns near restive volcano in Philippines

May 29, 2011, 4:56 GMT

Manila - A sudden change in water temperature of a lake surrounding a restive volcano in the Philippines has killed more than 700 metric tons of fish, a government agency said Sunday.

The fish kill affected five towns and a city around Taal Volcano in Batangas province, just south of Manila, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

The bureau said 752 metric tons of milkfish and tilapia have been found floating in Taal Lake, which surrounds Taal Volcano, since Friday.

The volcano has been showing signs of heightened activity since April, when the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised its five-tiered alert level to two.

In its latest bulletin, the institute said it recorded 10 volcanic quakes in the past 24 hours and elevated carbon dioxide emissions that indicated magma was moving towards the surface.

The agency said the volcano was strictly off-limits 'because sudden hazardous steam-driven explosions may occur and high concentrations of toxic gases may accumulate.'

Taal Volcano is a popular tourist destination. Visitors often hike or ride horses to the crater, as well as swim or ride boats in the crater lake.

The volcano last erupted in October 1977. It's deadliest eruption was in 1911 when it killed more than 1,300 people and its ashes reached Manila.