Indonesia’s Mount Soputan erupts with 6 km ash cloud

July 3, 2011 – INDONESIA – A volcano on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island has erupted, spewing ash and smoke 6 kilometers into the air. Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi province erupted about 6am on Sunday (8am AEST) but people living in the sparsely populated area have not been evacuated, Iing Kusnadi, a scientist at the volcano’s monitoring post said. “The volcano erupted this morning. Besides spewing ash and dust particles, it also spewed hot gas but that’s limited to around its crater,” he said. “The recommended evacuation zone is set at a six-kilometer radius around the volcano but there’s only forest in that range. At the moment, it is still a safe distance from people but we’ll continue to monitor the activity,” he added. The nearest village is 8km away on the western side of the volcano, which towers 1783 meters over North Sulawesi province. Soputan, one of Sulawesi’s most active volcanoes, last erupted in 2008 with no fatalities recorded. State volcanologist Surono, who uses only one name, says no one was injured when Mount Soputan, located on Sulawesi island, exploded early Sunday. –MB.com