Volcano eruption sends ash columns above Russian peninsula

Authorities closed schools in two towns following the eruption (Yuri Demyanchuk/AP)

Huge ash columns have erupted from Eurasia’s tallest active volcano, forcing authorities to close schools in two towns on Russia’s sparsely populated Kamchatka Peninsula.

The eruptions from the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano sent ash as high as eight miles above sea level, officials said.