Mount Anak Krakatau erupts in Indonesia

Mount Anak Krakatau in Sunda Strait of Indonesia has erupted with over 200 explosions a day, unleashing hot ash by up to 1,700 meters high and poisonous gas, officials said on Wednesday.

At night time, a gigantic flaring magma exited from the crater and came down to the slope, said Anton Tripambudi, observer at the Anak Krakatau monitoring post in Banten province told Xinhua by phone.

Head of Observation of Volcanology at Volcanology Agency Muhammad Hendratno said that the frequency of the explosion had risen since two days ago by up to 200 times a day from the range of 80 to 100 times a day to since two days ago.

"As the explosions have exited rocks, hot ash and other compact materials, we forbid those to close the mount at the radius of 2 kilometers," he said.

The seismic activity of the mount has increased since Oct. 10, said Hendratno.

Mount Anak Krakatau last exploded in 2001, then on Oct. 23, 2007 the volcano's seismic activity rose again, spewing lava and ash, he said.

The volcano located in the middle of Sunda Straits is far from the densely populated Java island and Sumatra island, however, it is near with the busy shipping lane connecting the islands.

"But, should the wind continuously blow to one direction, the it may bring the ash to one of the islands. Ships have been asked to stay away from the waters near the mountain," the observer said.

Mount Krakatau erupted in 1883, the strongest eruption in the world, killing over 40,000 people, then the mount disappeared from the sea surface.

In 1930, Mount Anak Krakatau or the Krakatau child appeared to the surface.

Source: Xinhua