Indonesia's Semeru volcano erupts, alert level raised to highest

Indonesia's Semeru volcano erupted on Wednesday and the country's volcanology agency increased the alert level of Java Island's tallest mountain to the highest.

The volcano spewed ash clouds as high as 2 km (1 mile) above the mountain's peak, the agency said, adding residents should keep to a 2.5 km distance away due to risks.

Semeru, more than 3,600 metres (12,000 feet) high, is one of Indonesia's nearly 130 active volcanoes.

Indonesia straddles the "Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.