A volcano in western Indonesia erupted Sunday, belching a column of ash around three kilometers into the sky and forcing the evacuation of dozens of hikers, officials said.
Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, with a peak of 2,891 meters, is on the third-highest alert level of Indonesia's four-step system and authorities imposed an exclusion zone around its crater.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties after the eruption at 2:54 pm local time, but 42 hikers were unaccounted for.