Volcano on Indonesia's Java gushes ash, causes panic
A towering column of ash exploded from a volcano on Indonesia's most populous island, Java, forcing tourists and residents to flee the mountain.
Indonesia's disaster agency said Friday the local government had closed the mountain near the city of Bandung to visitors and aircraft had been warned to avoid the area.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The volcano monitoring center said ash fell in a 1-2-kilometer radius around from the crater.
It is reviewing whether the alert status for the volcano, currently at normal, needs to be raised.
The disaster agency said communities around the mountain should be aware it could have a "phreatic" or steam-blast eruption that expels gas and ash without warning.
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