Volcano continues to erupt in Indonesia

Mount Sinabung volcano in Indonesia's North Sumatra continued to erupt on Tuesday, spewing a column of ash up to 2 km, a disaster agency official said.

The ash spread to the east of the crater, and lava flowed to the south, southeast and east, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster management agency said.

Villagers living along the rivers with upstream in the slope of Mount Sinabung are warned to be alert on a potential danger from flowing lava, he told Xinhua news agency.

Tourists and villagers are banned from entering a 3-km zone from the crater, a 7-km zone in south to southeast of the crater, and a 6-km zone in southeast to east of the crater, as well as a 4-km zone in north to east of the crater, he said.

The volcano, which started eruption on February 2, did not trigger evacuation, Sutopo said.

Mount Sinabung is one of Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes.

--IANS

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