Moment humongous volcano erupts and spills molten lava and 700C ash into sky
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The moment a volcano, known as "The Great Mountain", erupted and spewed 700C ash up into the air has been captured in dramatic video footage.
Almost a year to the day that Mount Semeru on Indonesia's main island of Java last exploded and caused the deaths of more than 50 people, it has blown its top again, leading to the evacuation of 2,000 residents.
One clip captured the "avalanche" of 704C ash cascading into the valleys below, while more mesmerising images showed plumes of smoke travelling 50,000ft into the air.
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Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), confirmed that burning hot ash clouds drifted almost 12 miles from the heart of the eruption.
No casualties have been reported due to the explosion, which happened at 2.46am local time on Sunday morning (December 4).
People were warned to stay at least five miles away as the alert level was raised to its highest by officials.
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A series of earthquakes have also hit the west of Java this year, including one last month that sadly led to the deaths of more than 300 people on the island.
Hendra Gunawan, a PVMBG chief, believes bigger volumes of magma could have built up compared with past eruptions in 2021 and 2020, which could pose a greater threat for a larger area, encompassing more residential regions.
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The Gladak Perak Bridge, which was only rebuilt in 2021 after that year's eruption, has again been damaged in the latest blast.
Semeru is the tallest mountain on Java at 12,060ft.
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A staggering, world-high of 8.6million people, meanwhile, live within six miles of one of Indonesia's 142 volcanoes.
The Semeru explosion comes just days after Hawaii's Mauna Loa – the world's biggest active volcano – had its first eruption since 1984, spewing reddish orange lava into the night sky.
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