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Indonesia’s most active volcano erupts, flight alert issued

The eruption of Merapi in the main island of Java was detected 2 km from the crater, according to the report.

Indonesia’s most active volcano erupts, flight alert issued

Mount Agung volcano erupts in Indonesia's Bali island (Photo: IANS)

Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia, erupted on Tuesday, spewing a column of thick ash which prompted authorities to issue flight alerts, a senior official said.

The eruption of Merapi in the main island of Java was detected 2 km from the crater, according to the report.

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The volcano unleashed dangerous volcanic gas and hot clouds, head of the Indonesian Research and Technology Development for Geological Disaster Agency (BPPTKG) Hanik Humaida said.

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A total of 353 people were killed and about 350,000 others were forced to evacuate during its eruption from October to November in 2010.

In 2015, more than a dozen flights were cancelled on Indonesia’s island of Bali due to an ash cloud emitted by a fresh eruption of Mount Agung volcano.

Mt Agung became active in September 2017 and its eruptions have forced operations at Denpasar airport to be halted many times.

The last major eruption of the volcano took place in 1963 and lasted for nearly a year, killing more than 1,000 people.

The Indonesian archipelago is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity that records thousands of mostly small to moderate tremors every year.

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