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Indonesia. One of Indonesia’s most active volcanos erupted on Friday, sending lava and a searing gas cloud tumbling down its slopes. At least four people have been confirmed dead, officials said, and several others were seriously hurt.

“It happened so fast,” said Surono, the director of the volcanology and mitigation agency. According to Surono, there was no time for an evacuation.

Mount Karangetang, located on Siau Island off the northern tip of Sulawesi, burst just after midnight when heavy rains broke the volcano’s hot lava dome, spitting out 600-degree Celsius clouds of gas.

Ash and lava crashed down the mountain’s western slope, destroying at least seven houses, Priyadi Kardono, the spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), told the Jakarta Globe.

Priyadi said he hoped the casualties would not rise but added that further investigation was necessary. “We are having a hard time communicating with people in the danger zones,” he said.

The head of the North Sulawesi Social Services Office, Recky Tumanduk, said the bodies of the victims had been evacuated from the area and that the North Sulawesi governor had been informed.

Tony Supit, a district chief, said authorities were trying to evacuate residents living in at least one nearby village. In all, about 22,000 people live on Siau.

The last time the 1,784-metermountain erupted was in July 2006, when some 4,000 people in five villages were evacuated.

Indonesia has the highest number of active volcanoes of any country in the world and sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of an intense volcanic and seismic activity.

 
AP, JG & Antara