Moscow - A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka region at a depth of 51 km (32 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said. 

Russia's Shiveluch volcano in the Kamchatka region erupted after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck the country's east coast, local media reported on Sunday.

volcano starts spewing lava

The volcano has started spewing ash and lava, the state-owned TASS news agency reported, citing the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The report quoted scientists as saying that the Shiveluch volcano has begun to erupt, with visual assessment showing ash plumes rising eight kilometres above sea level

A tsunami warning was issued

Earlier, the US National Tsunami Warning Center said there was a threat of a tsunami from the earthquake. But the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Emergency Ministry said there was no threat of a tsunami.