OREANDA-NEWS Routes to the Mutnovsky volcano and the Dangerous Canyon are temporarily closed in Kamchatka, the press service of the Volcanoes of Kamchatka park network reports.

According to eyewitnesses, there was a rock collapse on the climbing path.

"Earthquakes are currently being observed on the Mutnovsky volcano. There are quite a lot of seismic events. They provoke cracks and collapses," said Dmitry Melnikov, senior researcher at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to him, the Mutnovsky volcano has a powerful hydrothermal system. "The last eruptions were hydrothermal explosions. It is difficult to predict them. So it's too early to say that seismic events are harbingers of eruptions," the expert explained.

In the near future, specialists of the Volcanoes of Kamchatka Nature Park, together with volcanologists and representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, will inspect the routes and assess their safety. If these routes turn out to be dangerous, tourists will be offered alternative destinations.