2nd LD Writethru: Volcanic eruption leaves 3 dead, 4 injured in western Indonesia

Three people were killed and four other were seriously wounded after Mount Sinabung volcano in North Sumatra province of western Indonesia erupted on Saturday, disaster agency official said here.

Mount Sinabung in Karo district erupted four times in the afternoon, spewing a column ash by up to 3 km to the sky, with hot ash sliding off the west slope of the volcano by up to 4.5 km, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster management agency told Xinhua via phone.

The people were hit by hot ash when they were cultivating their farm land located in evacuation zone of 7 km from the crater, he said.

The hot ash also burned down several houses, Sutopo added.

All the victims have been evacuated by rescuers to a nearby hospital and the search for other possible affected-people will resume on Sunday, he added.

The national volcanology agency has declared Mount Sinabung volcano on top alert level.

Mount Sinabung of 2,600-meter (some 8,530-foot) high has sporadically erupted since September 2013 after being dormant for 3 years.

Sixteen people were killed and thousand others were forced to flee homes after the volcano erupted massively in February 2014.

Mount Sinabung is one of Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes located on the vulnerable quake-hit zone called the Pacific Ring of Fire. Endit