Indonesia's Merapi volcano ejects towering column of ash
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Indonesia's Mount Merapi has shot a towering plume of ash about 6 kilometers (4 miles) high in an eruption authorities said lasted 2 minutes.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said Friday the volcano's alert status, raised last month from the lowest level, is unchanged and a 3 kilometer no-go zone around the crater remains in force.
It said the eruption at 8.20 a.m. caused no panic and nearby Adi Sucipto Yogyakarta International Airport is still open to flights.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The mountain is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from center of Yogyakarta city on the densely populated island of Java.
About a quarter million people live within a 10 kilometer radius of the volcano.
Merapi's last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.