Three Malaysian air force planes are going to Indonesia to pick up hundreds of citizens stranded by the eruption of Mount Merapi.

International airlines cancelled flights into Indonesia’s capital today after a volcano hundreds of miles to the west unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century, incinerating villagers as they fled a searing gas cloud.

INDONESIA’S most active volcano killed 77 people yesterday in its biggest eruption in over a century, incinerating homes, grounding flights and driving thousands into shelters.

Blistering gas from Indonesia’s most volatile volcano spewed farther than expected today, incinerating houses at the edge of the danger zone, triggering chaotic evacuations and pushing the death toll in more than a week to nearly 100.

INDONESIA’S Mount Merapi volcano erupted yesterday for the third time in a week, driving the number of refugees to almost 70,000, as the death toll from a tsunami thousands of kilometres to the west rose to 431, officials said.

Indonesia’s military forced villagers off the slopes of the country’s most volatile volcano today as it unleashed a new powerful explosion that claimed another victim and temporarily shut down an airport.

INDONESIA’S Mount Merapi erupted three times yesterday, causing thousands to flee and claiming the life of a three-month-old baby girl as it emitted searing clouds and volcanic ash.

A POWERFUL earthquake rocked western Indonesia yesterday, trapping thousands under collapsed buildings – including two hospitals – and triggering landslides.

Thousands of people were feared killed by a massive earthquake that flattened homes in Sumatra today.

A Garuda Airlines passenger jet was flying at almost double the normal speed when it crash-landed at an Indonesian airport, killing 21 people, it was reported today.

Two pilots had been arguing moments before their Garuda Airlines passenger jet crashed last month at an Indonesian airport, leaving 21 people dead, a senior investigator said today.

Investigators picked through the charred debris of a Boeing 737-400 that burst into flames after careering off a runway in Indonesia, as forensic experts struggled to identify the 21 people killed, many burned beyond recognition.

At least 23 people were killed today when a packed Indonesian plane burst into flames as it landed on Java island.

At least 49 people were reported to have been killed and more than 90 injured when an Indonesian passenger plane carrying more than 140 people burst into flames as it landed on Java island early today.

FRESH spurts of lava from a nearby volcano yesterday and deteriorating sanitary conditions added to the strain for hundreds of thousands of survivors of Indonesia’s devastating earthquake.

Survivors just a few miles from aid distribution centres in Indonesia said today they’re still waiting for emergency food nearly a week after an earthquake shattered their homes.

Regions previously not reached by relief teams in remote areas of Indonesia’s quake zone reported hundreds of additional deaths, pushing the death toll from last weekend’s disaster to more than 6,200, officials said today.

International rescue workers today rushed to get medical care, water and shelter to some 650,000 people displaced by Indonesia’s earthquake, aided by the reopening of the airport closest to the disaster zone.

Rescuers said hopes of finding more survivors from a devastating earthquake that killed more than 5,400 people were waning today, as aid workers from around the world arrived in the disaster zone in central Indonesia.

A trickle of aid began reaching survivors of the Indonesian earthquake that killed more than 5,400 over the weekend, but desperate villagers said today the meagre deliveries were not enough.

UN agencies, governments and aid organisations rushed emergency supplies to Indonesia today to lay the groundwork for a coordinated humanitarian response to this weekend’s deadly earthquake as the death toll hit 5,000.

The first UN flight arrived today in Indonesia’s earthquake zone carrying water, tents, stoves and cooking sets, as the death toll from the disaster climbed to nearly 5,000.

The death toll in a powerful earthquake which hit central Indonesia rose to more than 4,000 today as exhausted and grieving survivors dug through their crumpled homes searching for clothes, food and valuables.

Thousands of exhausted and grieving survivors dug through their crumpled homes today searching for clothes, food and valuables after a powerful earthquake hit central Indonesia, killing more than 3,700.

A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early today, killing at least 2,900 people and injuring thousands more in the country’s worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

The Government today donated €500,000 to help relief efforts in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Indonesia.

A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early today, killing at least 2,500 people and injuring thousands more in the country’s worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early today, killing up to 1,325 people and leaving overwhelmed doctors begging for help, a government official said.

MORE than 100 villagers evacuated areas closest to Indonesia's rumbling Mount Merapi yesterday, bowing to days of pressure from officials who warned the volcano could erupt within the next two weeks.

An airliner has made an emergency landing on a river on the Indonesian island of Java during a heavy rainstorm.

Indonesian police have fired warning shots to disperse a protest by thousands of supporters of Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid for a second consecutive day.

Indonesia's most volatile volcano is becoming increasingly active and people have been warned to be ready for evacuation.