Mount Manaro volcano

AMBAE ISLAND, Vanuatu - An erupting volcano on this remote South Pacific island burst into spectacular life Thursday — shooting steam and toxic gases 9,845 feet into the sky.

Huge columns of dense white steam and muddy ash spewed above Ambae Island to reach the greatest height seen since the Mt. Manaro volcano began erupting Nov. 27.

The plumes of steam and gases were bursting from a huge vent in the middle of a muddy gray-brown Lake Vui in the crater — which before the eruptions began last month was a picturesque calm aqua blue.