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Indonesia shuts airport after Java volcano erupts

The Mount Merapi volcano is one of Indonesia's most active volcano
The Mount Merapi volcano is one of Indonesia's most active volcano

Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted this morning, sending a 6km column of ash into the air.

The eruption triggered the closure of the airport in the nearby city of Solo on the densely populated Java island.

The volcano, located near the cities of Yogyakarta and Solo, is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes and a series of eruptions in 2010 killed more than 350 people.

Indonesia's Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation issued a red alert and said the ash cloud was moving north.

The international airport in Solo had been temporarily shut since 9.25am local time, Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Four flights had been affected. 

The local disaster mitigation agency has warned people to keep out of a 3km exclusion zone around Merapi.

"Outside a 3km radius it's still safe," Biwara Yuswantana, the head of Yogyakarta's disaster mitigation agency, told Reuters. The city is located about 30 km from the volcano.

The latest eruption, part of a series that started in 2018, sent up a column of ash that affected several neighbouring areas, the country's Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Centre said in a statement.

It said the eruption lasted almost eight minutes and warned of a risk of further eruptions due to continuing movements of magma. 

The 2,930m volcano is a popular site for tourists and its fertile soil is also farmed.