Volcano erupts in western Indonesia, killing 6 people

Rescuers have found more bodies after a volcano erupted in western Indonesia, raising the death toll to six, an official said yesterday.
Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province blasted volcanic ash as high as 3 kilometers into the sky on Saturday, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said ash tumbled down the slopes as far as 4.5 kilometers westward into a river.
All the victims of Saturday’s eruption were working on their farms in the village of Gamber, about 4 kilometers away from the slope, or within the danger area.

Villagers inspect the path of a pyroclastic flow from the eruption of Mount Sinabung in Gamber village, North Sumatra

Photos taken on yesterday showed evidence of pyroclastic flows, a fast-moving cloud of hot volcanic gases, rocks and ash, in the village. Dead and injured animals lie on the ground, around them scorched homes and smoky vegetation. Soldiers were setting up roadblocks and people were carrying their belongings and leading farm animals to safety.
Nugroho said soldiers, police, and rescuers from disaster combatting agencies, as well as volunteers and villagers, were searching for more possible victims.
The mountain had been dormant for four centuries before reviving in 2010, killing two people. An eruption in 2014 killed 16 people.
Mount Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. AP