Erupting Indonesian volcano spews massive ash cloud
Solo: Indonesia’s most active volcano Mount Merapi erupted Tuesday, shooting a massive ash cloud some 6,000 metres (20,000 feet) in the air which coated nearby communities with grey dust and forced an airport closure.
Ash mixed with sand rained down on towns as far as 10 kilometres (six miles) from the belching crater near Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta.
“There was a thundering noise for at least five minutes and I could see the ash clouds from my house,” Jarmaji, a resident of Boyolali regency, told AFP.
Authorities did not raise the rumbling volcano’s alert status, but they temporarily shuttered the international airport in Solo city -- also known as Surakarta -- some 40 kilometres away after the early morning eruption. - AFP