(September 26, 2007)--New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu volcano began a sudden eruption on Tuesday, spewing mud down a ski slope and forcing police to close nearby roads, officials said.

The minor eruption on Tuesday evening on central North Island sent two mud flows, or lahars, down the mountain's slopes, including the Whakapapa ski slope, local district council spokesman Paul Wheatcroft said.

A cloud of ash and steam was reported rising about 15,000 feet bove the mountain peak by pilots shortly after the mid-evening eruption, vulcanologist Craig Miller said.

One lahar temporarily trapped a snow groomer, and two other ski slope workers suffered minor injuries, Wheatfield said.

Two other people were reported injured by rocks tossed out by the explosion.

One, a 22-year-old teacher, suffered serious leg injuries when rocks crashed through Dome Hut mountain shelter and was flown by rescue helicopter to nearby Waikato Hospital, rescuers told local media.

Two ski lodges with about 60 skiers were evacuated from the mountain before midnight.

Miller said the eruption was "level 2, minor eruptive activity" and the lahars were a "lot smaller" than one earlier this year that released millions of gallons of water from the mountain's crater lake.

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