Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano erupted and killed at least 11 people on the western island of Sumatra on February 1, the first time it is known to have claimed any lives, a senior government official was reported as saying. The volcano has become increasingly active in recent months, regularly spewing columns of ash several kilometres into the air. The government has evacuated tens of thousands of residents near the area.
Sinabung is one of nearly 130 active volcanoes in the world’s fourth-most populous country, which stands along the “Ring of Fire” volcanic belt around the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia’s most deadly volcanic eruption in recent years was of Mount Merapi, near the densely populated city of Yogyakarta in central Java. It erupted in late 2010, killing more than 350 people.