East Java residents flee as Indonesia's Semeru volcano erupts

Indonesia's Mount Semeru has erupted, spewing out a tower of smoke and ash that killed at least one person, plunged local communities into darkness and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee.

A deputy district chief of nearby Lumajang said Saturday's eruption of the Semeru volcano in the east of Java caused 41 burn injuries.

Eka Jusup Singka, a health official, told a news conference the government would send medical help to the affected districts.

Rescuers moved to evacuate local residents as lava reached nearby villages and destroyed a bridge in Lumajang regency in East Java.

"A number of areas went dark after being covered by volcanic ash," the country's disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said.

"We are building up some shelters in several locations in Lumajang," he added.

Authorities were setting up evacuation tents but rescue efforts were hampered by thick smoke, the country's disaster mitigation agency said.

A video released by the agency showed locals, including scores of children, running for safety as Mount Semeru erupted at 3:00 pm local time (0700 GMT).

Local authorities established a restricted zone of five kilometres from the crater after the eruption.

High alert after 2020 eruption

Semeru's alert status has remained at its second-highest level since its previous major eruption in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and left villages covered.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands erupted, causing an underwater landslide and tsunami which killed more than 400 people.

READ MORE: Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts