The volcano in western Indonesian unleashed hot clouds of ash on Saturday, killing several villagers, an official said.
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Nata Nail, an official at the local Disaster Management Agency, said a man died in hospital yesterday, leaving two others in a critical condition.
But he warned of the potential high risk of further eruptions, adding: “There shouldn’t have been any public activity [within the red zone]”.
All victims were found in the village of Gamber in close proximity to the volcano, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.
Nearly a year after its eruption caused 10,000 Indonesians to flee their homes, Mt Sinabung exploded again on Saturday, May 21, killing seven people.
The Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) will continue to monitor the movement of ash and dust from Mount Sinabung eruption in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Agustatius Sitepu, head of the military in Karo district said: “The villagers who managed to survive were running around in panic, trying to save themselves”.
Rescuers in Indonesia are searching ash-covered villages for survivors after a volcanic eruption during the weekend.
The bodies of the deceased, as well as those who sustained severe burns and other injuries, have been taken to Efarina Etaham hospital in Kebanjehe, also in Karo Regency.
Other villages that has been included in the red zone include Kuto Tonggal, Gurukinayan, and Berastepu.
Despite repeated warnings and government efforts to deter people from farming there, some still return to the area.
“It is not clear how many villagers were in Gamber village when hot ash slid off the crater”, Sutopo said. An eruption in 2014 killed 16 people.
Mt Sinabung is one of 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia which is within the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
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After a major eruption in the 1600s, Sinabung was silent for centuries before rumbling back to life in 2010.
