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Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupts

June 1, 2018

The eruption that lasted two minutes sent ash plumes flying as high as six kilometers. Indonesian authorities had last month raised the alert level for the volcano on the island of Java to one notch above normal.

Mount Merapi volcano spewing plume of ash
Image: Reuters/Antara Foto/M. Ayudha

Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted on Friday, sending a towering plume of ash about 6 kilometers (4 miles) high.

Mount Merapi on the island of Java is considered one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes in the world. Its last major eruption in 2010 killed more than 300 people and forced 280,000 to flee. 

Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the volcano's alert status, raised last month to one notch above normal, remains unchanged. The agency added that a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) no-go zone around the crater also stays.

Fiery images

03:54

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No disruption to air traffic

The eruption that lasted two minutes did not cause any panic among nearby residents, NDMA spokesman Sutopo Nugroho said.

The nearby Adi Sucipto International Airport in the city of Yogyakarta was operating normally.

About a quarter million people live within a 10-kilometer radius of the volcano.

Indonesia, an archipelago with more than 18,000 islands, lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activities. 

ap/rt (AP, dpa)

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