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| One killed, dozens injured in Indonesia's Mount Sumero volcanic ash |
A 41-year-old man was burned to death in a volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday, officials said.
In one video, residents are seen running away from a cloud of ash rising from Mount Sumero.
According to eyewitnesses, the surrounding villages were reduced to rubble, and the sun was obscured by the smoke and darkness fell.
Airlines have been warned of the danger of clouds rising up to 15,000 meters of ash.
The volcano erupted at 2:30 p.m., local time. Authorities have declared the three-mile radius a no-go area.
A local official, Tariq al-Haq, told Reuters news agency that the road and bridge leading to the nearby town of Malang had been severely damaged.
"The situation is very bad since it exploded," he said.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, or VAAC, in Australia's Darwin region, says the ash cloud is splitting off a mountaintop and moving southwest toward the Indian Ocean.
VAAC provides the aviation industry with information on the location and movement of volcanic ash.
VAAC meteorologist Campbell Bugs told the BBC that the ash cloud, which reaches an altitude of 15,000 meters, is much higher than the altitude at which ordinary airplanes travel, so many planes flying in many areas. Will have to change its course.
Ash sitting on the cold parts of aircraft engines hardens and can severely affect engine performance.
In addition, it may be difficult to see the pilot and due to poor air quality, passengers may need to be provided with oxygen masks.
"The volcano on Mount Sumero is very active and regularly spews ash up to an altitude of 4,300 meters, so the activity on Saturday was intense," Bugs said.
He said that this cloud of ash gradually dissolves in the atmosphere.
Mount Sumero is 3,676 meters above sea level and its eruption last December forced thousands of people to flee to safety.
It is one of the 130 living volcanoes in Indonesia.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continents collide, causing volcanoes and earthquakes.