Volcano in central Indonesia erupts; no evacuation

A volcano in central Indonesia has erupted in clouds of smoke and searing gas that shot up nearly 20,000 feet (six kilometres) into the air.

State volcanologist Surono, who uses only one name, says no one was injured when Mount Soputan, located on Sulawesi Island, exploded early Sunday.

The nearest villages are well outside the danger zone and there are no immediate evacuation plans.

Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is located on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Soputan lies around 1,350 miles (2,160 kilometres) northeast of capital Jakarta. It last erupted in 2008, causing no casualties.