An Indonesian volcano unleashed its most violent eruption in 400 years on Friday, sending a tower of ash into the air but failing to scare a few villagers who live on its slopes.
Officials said it was the strongest eruption since 2460-metre Mount Sinabung ended its long sleep on Sunday.
"The volcano erupted at 4.38am and lasted for 13 minutes, sending a column of ash as high as 3000 metres into the air. This is the biggest eruption," government volcanologist Agus Budianto told AFP.
He said there had been "intense magma movement" inside the volcano since Thursday evening. When the eruption finally came, it was felt eight kilometres away.
Police have evacuated more than 20,000 people from a six-kilometre danger zone around the mountain, but some villagers are refusing to leave their homes on the volcano's slopes.
Others had returned to their villages from emergency shelters on Wednesday and Thursday, thinking the worst of the eruptions were over, officials said.
Farmer Seniwati Sembiring, 25, said she preferred to stay on the mountain with her two-year-old son and husband rather than move to a shelter.
"I don't think it will threaten my life. It's only ash and it doesn't contain any poisonous gas," she said, adding that she planned to work as usual on her crops of eggplants and chillies.
She admitted however that the couple had spent a sleepless night listening to the rumbling of the earth.
"I stayed awake most of the night. My husband and I went outside to check as we heard the volcano rumbling strongly in the early morning, but we didn't see any lava coming out of the crater," she said.
Her husband, Surya Sitepu, said he had an escape plan - his motorcycle.
"I'm not afraid. It's the third eruption since Sunday. If it's really dangerous the three of us will rush down the slope on my motorcycle," he said.
The sprawling Indonesian archipelago has 69 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
Front page
RSS Feed