New volcanic eruption in Central Java kills dozens
Mount Merapi, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes located in the densely populated province, erupted on October 26, killing 40 people and forcing thousands to leave their homes.
The volcano erupted again for three hours early on Friday, unleashing continuously hot ashes by up to 8 kilometers high and spreading to all direction, with ashes reaching 45 kilometers away, Xinhua said.
Seventy-one people were seriously injured in Friday's eruption, Xinhua said. Doctors were quoted as saying the number of victims was expected to rise further.
Some media reports put the death toll from the volcano's latest activity at 122.
"This is Merapi's worst eruption in the last 100 years," the Indonesia's top government geologist R. Sukhyar told the Jakarta Post.
A brigade of soldiers has been sent to the affected areas to assist rescue efforts. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was to arrive in the neighboring city of Yogyakarta Friday afternoon to supervise the relief operations.
Mount Merapi is one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes in Indonesia and has produced more lava flows than any other volcano in the world. It has been active for 10,000 years and has registered eruptions on average every four years.
Most eruptions of Merapi involve a collapse of the lava dome creating lava flows which travel around 4 miles from the summit.
Merapi is located about 20 miles to the north of Yogyakarta, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 meters above sea level.
The worst eruption in 1930 killed around 1,300 people, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru