A volcano spewed ash in the Indian Ocean Comoros islands for a second day on Monday, stoking fears the angry mountain's first eruption in more than a decade could release a river of deadly lava. "People are really scared. We don't know which way the lava might flow," said Abdilahi Madi, a taxi driver in the capital Moroni where residents knelt to pray for an end to their ordeal. The 2,361-metre (7,746-ft) Mount Karthala erupted on Sunday, forcing thousands to flee in fear of poisonous gas and a possible magma flow as the crater threw up dust and boulders.
The majestic crag and its slopes form most of Grande Comore, the main island in the Comoros chain 300 km (190 miles) off east Africa that has witnessed periodic eruptions.
Residents said they feared the kind of noxious fumes that seeped from the volcano a century ago, killing 17 people.
"We couldn't sleep last night because of the dust," said Mohamed Djalih, an airport customs official. "People near the crater felt the earth shaking."
Families from the villages of Idjinkoundzi, Trelezini and Tsorale have moved into Moroni, which lies on the west coast of Grande Comore, about 15 km (9 miles) from Karthala's crater.
Karthala, a black peak soaring above vanilla vine plantations on fertile slopes, last erupted on July 11, 1991, hurling boulders for several kilometres but causing no injuries.
Residents estimated thousands had fled Karthala's southern flank, the most affected zone, normally home to 10,000. Most of the area appeared to have been evacuated by Monday afternoon.
"All the villages in this area are empty. There are just a few people left here," said villager Ahmed Ibrahim Fakihi, 55, who stayed behind to watch over his property in Idjinkoundzi, a settlement that consists of a huddle of corrugated iron huts.
"Because the lava is collecting inside the crater, it could emerge anywhere so we don't know where to go."
Residents said they were worried about the water supply because ash-contaminated rain had filled the wells they normally rely on for drinking, cooking and washing.
"We don't know whether we can use it. We are waiting to be told what to do," said Daroueche Djalim, a 40-year-old man, standing nearby one of the wells. Djalim said he had sent his wife and two children to another part of the island.
"For the moment we are using a covered well at the mosque but it's not enough for the whole village."
Roofs and car bonnets around Moroni were coated with dust. A few people wore white surgical masks or held handkerchiefs to their faces but most wore no protection from the choking fumes.
Residents gathered in mosques on Sunday to pray for an end to the eruption and on Monday groups could be seen kneeling in prayer around Moroni praying for Karthala to calm down.
A plane landing in Moroni whipped up a huge plume of dust on the runway. Residents said they had seen an orange glow over the top of the crater on Sunday evening.