Indonesia's Semeru volcanic eruption kills 13

The death toll following the eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia’s island of Java has risen to 13 and left dozens injured, officials said on Sunday.

The eruption of the biggest mountain on the island of Java caught locals by surprise on Saturday, sending thousands fleeing and forcing hundreds of families into makeshift shelters.

At least 11 villages of Lumajang district in East Java were coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and vehicles, smothering livestock and leaving at least 900 evacuees seeking shelter in mosques, schools and village halls.

Dramatic footage showed Semeru pumping a mushroom of ash into the sky, looming over screaming residents of a nearby village as they fled.

"The death toll is now 13 people. Rescuers found more bodies," national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari told AFP, without specifying the cause of death. Two of the victims have been identified, he said in a later statement.

At least 57 people including two pregnant women were injured in the eruption, of whom 41 suffered burns and were hospitalised, the agency said in a press release.

President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered a rapid emergency response to find victims and treat the injured after the scale of the disaster became clear, said state secretary Pratikno, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name. BSS/AFP.

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