Adrenaline junkies ride 'swing at the end of the world' as volcano ERUPTS
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If the thought of riding a rickety wooden swing over the edge of a huge drop wasn't scary enough, imagine trying it during a volcanic eruption.
Captured soaring into the air, 8,530ft above seal level, these adrenaline junkies got more than they bargained for when Mt. Tungurahua suddenly erupted - mid swing.
Aptly named the 'Swing at the End of the World' at Casa de Arbol, near Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador, the precariously built contraption consists of two pieces of rope and a single wooden seat protruding out from an old treehouse.
Chris Morris takes his turn swinging whilst Mt. Tungurahua erupts before the group evacuate the area to avoid the poisonous ash cloud
Check out that cloud, man: One of the group, Greg Zegas, swings out whilst Mt. Tungurahua erupts in the background
Boom: A huge ash cloud blows out of Mt. Tungurahua as it erupts, spewing out flames
After catching wind that the active volcano was 'spitting', photographer, Sean Hacker Teper, 21, and his friends decided to race to the top of the hill on their All Terrain Vehicles to get a better look.
Although the group anticipated glorious views of the surrounding area, the group didn't expect to witness the volcano spurting out clouds of ash.
Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano then spewed a six-mile (10-kilometer) column of ash after a powerful, five-minute explosion that shot pyroclastic material onto its northern and northwestern flanks.
The 16,480-foot (5,023-meter) volcano, nearly 90 miles (140 kilometers) south of Quito, revived itself earlier this year with eruptions that affected a third of Ecuador's provinces and temporarily closed a regional airport.
Whee! Tourists and locals take turns on the End of the World swing while the volcano rumbles away
Check out that cloud, man: One of the group, Greg Zegas, swings out whilst Mt. Tungurahua erupts in the background
Ecuador's geophysics institute said the blast in question occurred at 6:10 pm local time and was followed by a second, four-minute explosion and five lesser tremors.
The once-in-a-lifetime moment couldn't last forever and Sean his friends had to quickly evacuate the area due to the poisonous ash cloud heading their way.
'The scene was crazy, we had rented ATVs to drive up the hill to the end of the world swing and had no idea that the volcano was active,' said Sean.
Precarious: The swing at Casa de Arbol, near Banos de Agua Santa, Ecuador, consists of two pieces of rope and a single wooden seat protruding out from an old treehouse
'I got a text from my friend saying that the volcano was spitting, so we kicked the vehicles into high gear and hurried up the hill to get there fast as we could, although we also received a text from our student advisor to not go near the volcano.
'Once there, it spat twice before finally erupting - the first two times were incredible and absolutely mesmerizing.
'The noises from the eruption lasted a few seconds each and were very loud, we were all in shock.
'It was definitely a once in lifetime moment, we were lucky to be in Baños during the weekend that it erupted, and even luckier to be on the swing during the actual eruption.
'It was such a thrill, I think we yelled "we just watched a volcano erupt" about ten times each, it's fair to say we were super excited.'
Tungurahua has been erupting sporadically since 1999. In 2006, a pyroclastic cloud killed four people and left two missing.
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