Mount Sinabung volcano erupts in Indonesia, killing 7
By Tiffany Ap, Kathy Quiano and Yuli Yang, CNN
Updated
9:11 PM EDT, Sun May 22, 2016
Photos: Mount Sinabung erupts in Indonesia
A scorched home is seen on Sunday, May 22, 2016 after it was hit by the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung. The volcano unleashed hot clouds of ash Saturday, May 21, killing at least seven people in the western province of North Sumatra.
PHOTO:
Binsar Bakkara/AP
Photos: Mount Sinabung erupts in Indonesia
A dog covered in volcanic ash crouches down Sunday, May 22.
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Binsar Bakkara/AP
Photos: Mount Sinabung erupts in Indonesia
Indonesian soldiers conduct search and rescue operations Sunday, May 22 in a North Sumatra village after the volcano eruption.
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ARDIANSYAH PUTRA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Mount Sinabung erupts in Indonesia
Coffins containing the bodies of the volcano eruption victims are lowered into a grave during a funeral Sunday, May 22.
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Binsar Bakkara/AP
Photos: Mount Sinabung erupts in Indonesia
Indonesian soldiers carry people's belongings during an evacuation Sunday, May 22.
PHOTO:
Binsar Bakkara/AP
Photos: Mount Sinabung erupts in Indonesia
The area remains on the highest alert, and more eruptions are likely. The volcano has long been active, spewing smoke intermittently, as seen in June 2015.
Farmers work in the fields as smoke rises from Mount Sinabung in June 2015. A 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) area around the mountain was declared a danger zone in 2014 and residents told to evacuate, but people still returned to tend to their homes and land.
More than 75% of Indonesians live within 39 kilometers (62 miles) of volcanoes that have had some activity during the last century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Mount Sinabung in the western province of North Sumatra erupted on Saturday
Potential for more eruptions remains high
(CNN) —
At least seven people have died and two more are critically injured after Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung erupted on Saturday, the country’s National Disaster Management Agency reported.
The seven victims were in Gembar village in the western province of North Sumatra when the eruption occurred at 4:48 p.m. local time (9:48 a.m. GMT). Search teams comprised of police, military, Indonesian Red Cross and volunteers continue to search for other victims.
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Alaska Volcano Observatory
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Villagers look on as Mount Sinabung volcano spews thick volcanic ash in Karo, Indonesia, on Friday, May 19.
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Ivan Damanik/AFP/Getty Images
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EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP/Getty Images
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Colt Snapp/Alaska Volcano Observatory
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JUAN CEVALLOS/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
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Adwit B Pramono/ANTARA FOTO/Reuters/Landov
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Getty Images
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Thick ash, rock fragments and volcanic gases pour from Mount Sinabung in Indonesia. The government's natural disaster management agency raised the alert level on June 5, 2015.
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Ahmad Zikri Mohamad Zuki/CNN iReport
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The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
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Carlos F. Gutierrez/ap
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Kent Gilbert/Xinhua/Landov
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From USGS
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Antonio Huglich/AFP/Getty Images
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IVAN GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images
Gembar village, along with three other villages, is inside a four-kilometer (2.5 mile) danger zone declared in October 2014. Nearly 5,000 residents were evacuated at the time but Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said some locals still enter the zone, staying intermittently to tend to their homes, property and farms.
It is unclear how many people were in the inclusion zone area.
Mount Sinabung is still on the highest alert level and potential for more eruptions remain high.
The head of the National Disaster Management Agency has ordered the immediate evacuation of people who insist on staying within the zone.
