Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupts

Jakarta, Dec 9: Indonesia's Merapi volcano has erupted, spewing thick ash as high as 3,500 metre into the sky, according to the Center for Research and Development of Geological Disaster Technology.

"As ash clouds are falling to the southwest, people are advised to stay away from the danger area," said monitoring officer Triyono on Friday.

Abdul Muhari, Spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency, said that volcanic ash accompanied by heavy rain poured down on villages around Merapi, especially those in Boyolali and Magelang districts, Xinhua news agency reported.

Heavy rain at the peak of Merapi also brought down cold lava and authorities advised people to stay away from areas within a radius of up to 7 km from the crater.

Straddled in the provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java, the 2,968-metre volcano is at the third level of danger.