Tourist captures incredible footage of rare volcanic lightning as Japan's Sakurajima volcano erupts in front of him

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A tourist has videoed the exact moment a Japanese volcano erupts - including the rare phenomenon of volcanic lightning.

Shot by filmmaker Marc Szeglat, 47, the footage shows the highly active Sakurajima volcano on the Japanese island of Kyushu. 

The volcano explodes into life as it sprays burning hot ash high into the air - followed by a deafening shockwave. 

Mar Szeglat managed to capture the rare occurrence of volcanic lighting at the Sakurajima volcano on the Japanese island of Kyushu

The volcano explodes into life as it sprays burning hot ash high into the air - followed by a deafening shockwave

The German videographer was able to capture the volcanic lightning, as well as an explosive shockwave which rippled through the sky.

Sakurajima, translated as Cherry Island, has been erupting on a regular basis since 1955 and is a constant danger to the nearby city of Kagoshima, which has a population of over 600,000.

In 1914, the then-dormant volcano emitted the largest eruption in Japan during the twentieth century.

Marc explained what it was like to photograph such an active and dangerous volcano - which erupted between March 2 and 7 2015.

The videographer described the experience as 'scary' when it was happening right in front of him

The German videographer found a perfect vantage point so as to catch the beautiful, yet ferocious moments, of eruption

Sakurajima, translated as Cherry Island, has been erupting on a regular basis since 1955

He said: 'There was a delay of several seconds between seeing the eruption and the arrival of the shockwave and sound.

'This was very exciting as I didn't know how strong the shockwave would be.

'But when it happened I felt the breath of wind from the interior of the earth like an extremely brief squall.

In 1914, the then-dormant volcano emitted the largest eruption in Japan during the twentieth century

Szeglat was able to capture the volcanic lightning, as well as an explosive shockwave which rippled through the sky

'After that, my friend and I laughed loudly and we were very happy.

'The lightning is very rare and does not appear in a normal ash cloud but in clouds from pyroclastic flows - which are mixtures of rock fragments and hot gases.

'Pyroclastic flows are the most dangerous hazards on volcanoes and so I was a little bit afraid when a big one was happening in front of me - but in fact the whole experience was a great adventure.'