Plumes of smoke and ash billowed from Lord of the Rings’ Mount Doom.
Walkers fled as New Zealand’s Mount Tongariro erupted for the second time in four months, sending debris two miles high.
It caused flights to be cancelled and forced local residents to stay indoors and keep their windows shut.
Officials said there was no significant damage however the blast sent schoolchildren and hikers along the mountain’s base fleeing.
Teacher Lomi Schaumkel, who was with pupils, said: “We saw all these tourists running. We didn’t stick around.
“We were probably only a kilometre away from it. It was just amazing."
The volcano, which featured in the film triology, also erupted in August for the first time in a century.
Tongariro National Park on New Zealand’s North Island has three active volcanoes and is a popular tourist destination.
Tony Hurst, a volcanologist with GNS Science, said this latest eruption lasted about five minutes and it was unexpected.
However, scientists had placed the volcano on a higher alert after it erupted in August for the first time in more than a century.
