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Mount Merapi has erupted sending a river of lava and gas clouds flowing down its slopes.
The volcano, which sits in Yogyakarta near to Magelang and Sleman districts on the island of Java, is the most active in Indonesia.
In footage posted to Twitter, residents can be seen running across the road as grey and white smoke billows out of the mountain in the background.
Hanik Humaida, the Head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre, said the volcano’s latest lava flow was the biggest since Merapi’s danger level was upgraded in November 2020.
Locals have been warned to stay 5km away from the crater.
According to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), the explosive activity has reached Darwin, Australia, as the volcanic ash plume rose to an estimated 40,000ft.
At this stage, it is unclear if anyone has been injured in Merapi’s latest eruption, but prayers have flooded in across social media for those living near to the active volcano.
One user said: “Stay safe everyone. Prayers for the slopes of Merapi. May we all be safe.”
It comes after the volcano twice on Sunday lasting around seven minutes with residents warned to remain outside a 3km no-go zone.
Authorities evacuated nearly 2,000 people living on the mountain, but reports claim that most have since returned.
Commercial planes were warned to be cautious if flying in the area.
Mount Merapi is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes with its last major eruption in 2010 killing 347 people.
That was its most powerful eruption since 1930, which killed around 1,300 people, while another explosion in 1994 took about 60 lives.
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