Five Dead in Indonesian Volcanic Eruption

AFP
August 10, 2013

volcano

A volcano erupted in central Indonesia on Saturday, spewing hot ash and rocks high into the air and killing five people, an official said.

Mount Rokatenda, on the tiny island of Palue, sent fast-moving red-hot ash onto a nearby beach, leaving three adults and two children dead, said vulcanology centre head Surono.

Rokatenda has been on high alert since October, with authorities banning people from any activities within three kilometres (1.9 miles) from the crater on the island of around 7,000 inhabitants.

Surono, speaking from Bandung city on Java island, said his staff at the scene had reported the five people had been killed within the exclusion zone.

It was not clear what the victims had been doing in the restricted area when it erupted, he said.

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