Asia-Pacific

Huge volcano eruption kills 13 in Indonesia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-05 10:51

SLEMAN, Yogyakarta - A volcano in Central Java of Indonesia re-erupted earlier Friday, the biggest one since October 26, killing 13 people and seriously injuring 57 others, as over 1 million people have sough shelters, officials said.

Mount Merapi of 2,968 meters high, erupted again for three hours, starting from about 12:00 am Jakarta time Friday (1700 GMT Thursday), unleashing continuously hot ash by up to 8 kilometers high and spreading to all direction, official at Volcanology Agency in Yogyakarta Kurniati Rinekso said.

"This is the strongest ever eruption, stronger than that on Wednesday," he told Xinhua.

The volcanic ash spread by up to 45 kilometers, hitting nearby cities, including Yogyakarta.

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At least five houses in Argo Mulyo village of Sleman regency were burned by the hot ash, several people got burn injury, a rescuer told Xinhua.

Press officer DR SArdjito General Hospital in Yogyakarta Susan Ananti told Xinhua that 13 people had been killed and 57 others seriously injured in the latest eruption.

According to the local procedure in Yogyakarta, all the dead bodies were brought to the hospital for autoption.

Spokesperson of the National Disaster and Mitigation Management Agency Nelis Zuliasri told Xinhua from Jakarta that 976,247 people in the danger zone at the radius of 15 kilometers must be evacuated.

Previously, the volcanology agency recommended those at the radius of 10 kilometers to leave the area, many of the residents had took shelters in the area near the evacuation zone, but, on Wednesday, the agency extended it to 15 kilometers.

A massive flow of evacuation has occurred since Wednesday, forcing authorities to provide new shelters.  
Mount Merapi has freuently erupted since October 26.

Mount Merapi is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. The Southeast Asian country lies in a quake-prone zone called the Pacific Ring of Fire, and now has 129 active volcanoes.

The previous eruption of Mount Merapi in 2006 killed two people. A 1994 eruption claimed 60 lives. A major eruption in 1930 killed more than 1,000 people.