Fresh volcanic eruption in Indonesia sparks panic

A DEADLY volcano in Indonesia spewed another searing cloud of ash down its slopes yesterday, prompting panic and chaos among thousands of villagers who had taken advantage of a lull in activity to rush home and check on their livestock.

Sirens and loudspeakers blared, and people jumped into rivers trying to escape the heat, while others sprinted down the mountain or sped off in cars and trucks, local disaster official Rusdiyanto said.

It was not clear if there were any new casualties, though an official said the ash cloud was not near populated areas.

Explosions from Mount Merapi, in central Java, killed 38 people in the past week.

The new blast came as rescuers hundreds of miles away were finally able to resume food deliveries and evacuate injured victims of a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake near a chain of remote islands off western Sumatra.

The number of people killed in the twin catastrophes climbed to almost 500.