WATCH | Indonesia volcano spews huge ash cloud in second eruption in three days
An Indonesian volcano spewed a giant ash cloud 5 km (3.1 miles) into the sky on Monday in its second eruption in three days, emitting a thunderous noise and turning the sky dark, authorities and witnesses said.
The eruption of Mount Sinabung on the island of Sumatra comes after more than a year of inactivity and was the second since Saturday, as authorities warned residents and tourists about possible lava flows.
Dramatic footage of the morning eruption captured by residents showed a giant cloud of thick ash rising from the peak of the 2,460-metre (8,071-ft) mountain in Karo, North Sumatra.
"The sound was like thunder, it lasted for less than 30 seconds," resident Fachrur Rozi Pasi told Reuters by phone.
BREAKING - The large volcanic mount Sinabung has erupted in north #Sumatra, #Indonesia.
— SV News 🚨 (@SVNewsAlerts) August 10, 2020
Massive plumes of ash and smoke are rising from the #volcano into the sky. pic.twitter.com/pEWqsIIJbI
Residents have been advised to stay outside of a 3 km radius of the volcano and to wear masks to minimise the effects of falling volcanic ash, the volcanology agency said in a statement.
No casualties have been reported and a spokeswoman for the civil aviation authority said flights were still operating in the region.
"The situation around Mount Sinabung is very dark now," said Gilbert Sembiring, who was visiting a friend in Naman Teran Kampung when Sinabung erupted.
It's noon in Indonesia, that's the ash from Sinabung volcano blocking the sunlight. pic.twitter.com/HlDrFzmeUb
— Manuel Ruiz (@mozzaic_) August 10, 2020
"It was bigger than the eruption a couple of days ago."
Sinabung, located in one of the world's most volcanically active countries, had been inactive for centuries before it erupted again in 2010.