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The Japan Self-Defense Forces have sent helicopters to the remote southern island of Kuchinoerabu-jima to evacuate people amid the eruption of the Shindake volcano, the country’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told journalists on Friday, Sputnik reports.

A security ship is also headed for Kuchinoerabu-jima, Abe said, adding that the orders were given about 15 minutes after the Shindake volcano started erupting at 10 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) on Friday.

Emergency headquarters were set up at the crisis center of Abe’s office amid the eruption, which prompted the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue the highest, level 5 alert.

An agency spokesperson told journalists on Friday that more powerful eruptions could occur on Kuchinoerabu-jima later on and urged the island residents to follow evacuation orders.

The meteorological agency’s cameras captured the Shindake volcano spitting out black smoke and ash, with the plume rising 9,000 meters (29,500 feet) up into the air. The meteorologists also reported that a pyroclastic flow of heated gas and rock flowed down the western side of the volcano, reaching the ocean.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.