‘Red notice’ warning for airlines as Indonesia’s Sinabung volcano unleashes towering column of ash
In 2010, the 2,460-metre volcano erupted for the first time in more than 400 years. It erupted again in 2014 and has remained highly active ever since
Rumbling Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has shot billowing columns of ash more than 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) into the atmosphere and hot clouds down its slopes.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said there were no fatalities or injuries from Monday morning’s eruption.
The volcano, one of three currently erupting in Indonesia, was dormant for four centuries before exploding in 2010, killing two people. Another eruption in 2014 killed 16 people, while seven died in a 2016 eruption.
Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said hot ash clouds travelled as far as 4,900 metres southward.
The regional volcanic ash advisory centre in Darwin, Australia, issued a “red notice” to airlines.
Some 30,000 people have been forced to leave homes around the mountain in the past few years.