Erupting Merapi kills up to 18 people

MOUNT MERAPI. October 27. KAZINFORM Indonesia's most volatile volcano erupted Tuesday after scientists warned that pressure building beneath its dome could trigger the most powerful explosion in years. At least 18 people were killed, including a two-month-old baby, according to doctors and media reports; Kazinform refers to The Arab News.

Smoke poured out of Mount Merapi, obscuring its cone, according to footage from the private station, Metro TV.

Police and volunteers were shown carrying ash-covered corpses, some wrapped in blankets and yellow body bags, to waiting vehicles.

Thousands of villagers started streaming off the 9,737-foot- (2,968-meter-) high mountain as darkness fell Tuesday, crowding into makeshift emergency shelters with straw sleeping mats and bags of clothes and food.

Earlier, many had refused to budge, saying they wanted to tend to crops along volcano's fertile slopes and protect their homes against looters.

While there are fears the current activity could foreshadow a much more destructive explosion in the coming weeks or months, Gede Swantika, a government vulcanologist, said the mountain appeared to be releasing some pressure building up beneath the lava dome.

"It's too early to know for sure," he said, adding a big blast could still be coming. "But if it continues like this for a while, we are looking at a slow, long eruption." As they contended with the volcano, Indonesian officials were also trying to assess the impact of Monday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) from Merapi. The temblor caused a tsunami that left hundreds dead or missing on a string of remote islands; Kazinform cites The Arab News.

See www.arabnews.com for full version