Indonesia's Ibu volcano erupts twice, spewing red-hot lava

Indonesia's Mount Ibu volcano erupted again on Thursday, firing lava and rocks into the night sky and triggering a spectacular display of volcanic lightning, the country's volcanology agency PVMBG said.

The first eruption of the 1,325 metre high volcano was at 1:30 a.m. local time, Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari, an official at PVMBG said, with the second at 7:46 a.m. for two minutes, shooting volcanic ash as high as 1,200 metres. 

"The alert status of the volcano is still level four or the highest," Heruningtyas said.

The agency banned any activities within seven kilometres of the crater.

Thursday's volcanic activity was the latest in a series of eruption since May. Ibu volcano also erupted on Tuesday, spewing five kilometre columns of grey ash into the sky.

Authorities have evacuated seven villages nearby since May 16 but no new evacuation was planned after the latest eruption.

Indonesia sits on the geologically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" and has 127 active volcanoes.

Last month, the eruption of Ruang volcano in North Sulawesi province forced the evacuation of more than 12,000 people.

At least 60 people were killed last month during flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi, one of the most active volcanoes in West Sumatra province.