Volcano erupts in Indonesia, forcing evacuation

JAKARTA - Powerful burst of hot ashes erupted from a rumbling Mount Sangiang in West Nusatenggara province of Indonesia on Friday, forcing evacuation of growers from the areas at the slope of the volcano, official said.

Mount. Sangiang of 1,842 km located in a small island of Bima district spewed ashes by up to 3,000 km to the sky at 15:55 p.m. local time, Muhammad Hendrasto, head of National Volcanology Agency, revealed.

"Scores of farmers cultivating the land in the island, 7 km from the crater, have been told to leave the area since this morning. And they have been warned not to reenter the island during the eruption period,"he told Xinhua by phone.

The eruption of Mount Sangiang has been the third highest alert level since June 14, 2013, said Hendrasto.

"With this eruption, we are likely to raise the alert level to the second highest," he disclosed.

So far, there is no order for evacuation of those living in the nearby island, according to Hendrasto.

Mount Sangiang is among 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In February, more than 15 people were killed and tens of thousands others were internally displaced when Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra erupted intermittently.