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Mexico‘s Colima Volcano has sent three eruptions in the space of a few hours, spewing ash and vapour more than a mile into the air.

The civil defence office of that western state of Jalisco says the three eruptions occurred Sunday morning. The biggest columns of ash reached 1.25 miles (2 kilometres) in height, and the smallest was just under a mile tall.

Video showed a large explosion around 9 p.m. Saturday night (0200 GMT Sunday) with glowing lava, smoke and ash shooting from the volcano in front of a starlit, night sky.

READ MORE: Mexico’s ‘Volcano of Fire’ erupts forcing hundreds to be evacuated

An earlier explosion sent a large plume of ash and smoke some 2,000 meters (4,921 feet) into the air around 4 p.m. (2200 GMT).

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Also known as the Volcano of Fire, the 12,533-foot (3,820-meter) volcano is 430 miles (690 kilometres) west of Mexico City.

The 3,800 metre volcano has increased in activity since October. The eruptions cap about 10 days of periodic exhalations at the volcano, which is one of Mexico’s most active.

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According to website volcanodiscovery.com, increased activity at the volcano is due to the growth of a new lava dome.

Mexico has more than 3,000 volcanoes, but only 14 are considered active.