Indonesia's Mount Sinabung ejects ash 1,500 metres into sky

The eruption lasted more than 3 minutes, but there were no reports of casualties, according to the country’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, dpa reported.

Mount Sinabung has been erupting intermittently for years. In 2016, nine villagers were killed after the volcano ejected searing gas and volcanic materials known as pyroclastic flow.

Authorities are advising villagers to stay out of an exclusion zone of about 3 to 5 kilometres away from the crater.

Indonesia has the largest number of active volcanoes in the world with 127 volcanoes, and 77 seven of them with eruptions that date back before the 1600s.