Victims were covered in hot ash following the latest Merapi eruption At least 11 people have been killed in a fresh eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano.
About 50 others were injured when a gas cloud hit mountainside villages with even greater force than last week’s eruptions.
A total of at least 55 people have now been killed. An estimated 75,000 have been evacuated from the area.
Mount Merapi, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, is located in a densely populated area in central Java.
The fresh eruption began late on Thursday, sending residents streaming down the mountain with ash-covered faces.
The authorities have decided to widen the “danger zone” around the crater from 15 km (9 miles) to 20km (12 miles).
Earlier on Thursday eyewitnesses said the volcano had been spewing clouds of hot ash and gas some 5km (three miles) into the sky.
The energy from the latest eruption was three times greater than that of the first one on Tuesday last week, government vulcanologist Surono said.
Scientists are warning of further eruptions in the coming weeks.
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