Indonesia: Mount Semeru volcano eruption spews ash 50,000ft into the sky

Indonesia’s highest volcano, Mount Semeru, spewed a column of volcanic ash into the air in a dramatic eruption on Sunday 4 December 4.

Authorities evacuated nearly 2,000 people on the island of Java as a result of the incident.

The volcano’s plume of ash reached a height of 50,000 feet (15 km), Japan’s Meteorology Agency said, having initially been on alert for the possibility that the volcano could trigger a tsunami.

Searing gas and lava also flowed down Semeru’s slopes toward a nearby river.

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