JAKARTA | One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Merapi, erupted on Thursday and spat out incandescent lava and smoke that formed a large plume more than 2,000 meters in the sky.
Authorities did not raise the alert level of the volcano after the early morning eruption but cautioned the airlines.
Locals have been instructed not to approach more than three kilometers from the Merapi crater, near the cultural capital of Indonesia, Yogyakarta, on the island of Java.
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Volcanic ash fell over a 10 km2 area around the volcano, according to the Center for the Prevention of Volcanic and Geological Risks.
In 2010, Mount Merapi had experienced a major eruption that had killed more than 300 people and forced more than 280,000 inhabitants to evacuate the region.
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It was the most powerful eruption since that of 1930, which killed some 1,300 people, while an explosion in 1994 killed 60 people.
The archipelago of Southeast Asia has more than 17,000 islands and islets and nearly 130 active volcanoes.
Indonesia is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the friction of the tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
