Volcano erupts in eastern Indonesia, killing 9

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Sunday at 11.57pm local time, belching a fiery-red column of lava, volcanic ash and incandescent rocks, Hadi Wijaya, a spokesman for The Centre of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, said on Monday.

“After the eruption, there was power outage and then it was raining and big lightning which caused panic among residents,” he said, adding that the authority had raised the status of the volcano to level IV or the highest.

The agency has recommended a 7km (4.35 miles) radius must be cleared.

Fiery lava and rocks hit the nearest settlements around 4km (two miles) from the crater, burning and damaging residents’ houses, Hadi said.

As of Monday morning at least nine people had died, said Heronimus Lamawuran, a local official at East Flores area, adding the eruption had affected seven villages.