Updated

Vacationers flying on a plane to St Lucia were stunned to look out their windows and see a huge volcano erupting in front of their eyes, The Sun reported on Thursday.

Passengers on the Boeing 737 were amazed to see a plume of ash hurled into the sky by the explosion.

They rushed to the side of the jet to photograph the cloud from the Soufriere Hills volcano on Caribbean island Montserrat.

Mary Jo Penkala, 49, was flying to the Caribbean from Toronto, Canada, with partner Barry Steinfeld, when she saw the staggering sight and took a picture.

She said: "We saw the volcano in all its glory."

Passengers told how the pilot had simply announced over the intercom: "Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to the left of the plane, you'll see a volcano erupting."

After a long period of dormancy, the Soufriere Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since.

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