Indonesia issues flight alert as volcano erupts

 Indonesian authorities issued a flight warning as Mount Kerinci volcano on Sumatra Island erupted on Wednesday, a statement from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said.

The volcano erupted at 12.48 p.m. Jakarta time (0548 GMT), spewing a column of ash up to 0.8 km into the air. The volcanic ash was likely to spread to the northeast and east of the crater, reports said.

"It is better (for planes) to avoid the pathway around Mount Kerinci, because the volcano would see another eruption at any time and volcanic ash spewed into the air would endanger planes," the Ministry said in the statement cited by Xinhua news agency.

A no-go zone of 3 km from the crater was put in place.

Mount Kerinci is among the more than 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a vast archipelagic country home to over 17,500 islands. IANS