Indonesia’s Ibu volcano erupts twice, spewing red-hot lava

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Mount Ibu volcano erupted again on June 6, firing red bright lava and rocks into the night sky and triggering a spectacular display of volcanic lightning, the country’s volcanology agency PVMBG said.

The 1,325m-high volcano on the eastern island of Halmahera erupted twice on June 6, PVMBG official Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari told Reuters.

The first eruption was at 1.30am local time (12.30am Singapore time), spewing incandescent lava and rocks as lightning flashes lit up its crater, PVMBG footage showed.

The second eruption was at 7.46am local time for two minutes, shooting volcanic ash as high as 1,200m. Clouds of grey ash billowed into the sky from the crater, images from PVMBG showed.

“The alert status of the volcano is still level four or the highest,” Ms Heruningtyas said.

The agency banned any activities within 7km of the crater.

The June 6 volcanic activity was the latest in a series of eruptions since May. Mount Ibu also erupted on June 4,

spewing 5km columns of grey ash

into the sky.

The authorities have evacuated seven villages nearby since May 16, but no new evacuation is planned after the latest eruption.

Indonesia sits on the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire and has 127 active volcanoes.

In May, the

eruption of Ruang volcano

in North Sulawesi province forced the evacuation of more than 12,000 people.

At least 60 people were killed in May during flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi, one of the most active volcanoes in West Sumatra province. REUTERS