Officials alert residents near Costa Rican volcano

Emergency officials in Costa Rica say they have moved some residents away from a volcano outside the capital after it spewed toxic gas and ash, signs of a potentially imminent eruption.

The Turrialba volcano located about 40 miles (65 kilometers) outside San Jose began a series of eruptions in 2007. Several nearby villages were evacuated and a surrounding national park closed in 2010.

Costa Rica’s National Emergency Commission said its volcano warning level was at green on Wednesday, the lowest of three warning levels, but that it had alerted residents about the possibility of an evacuation and already moved some villagers away from the populated areas closest to the volcano so they would not be harmed by erupting gases.