JAKARTA (AFP) – A volcano erupted several times in Indonesia overnight yesterday, forcing hundreds of people to be evacuated after it spewed lava and a column of smoke more than a mile into the sky.
Mount Ruang, a stratovolcano in North Sulawesi Province, first erupted at 9.45pm on Tuesday and twice again in the early hours of yesterday, the country’s volcanology and geological agencies said.
There were no reports of any deaths or injuries but more than 800 people were evacuated from two villages on Ruang island to the nearby island of Tagulandang, state news agency Antara reported.
The first eruption pushed an ash column two kilometres into the sky, with the second eruption pushing it to 2.5 kilometres, head of the geological agency Muhammad Wafid said in a statement.
