Mount Sinabung, a highly active volcano, began a series of new eruptions on Saturday blasting up to two miles into the sky with ash tumbling westward down the slopes for three miles into a river.
In late 2014, the residents of Gamber village were asked to evacuate due to the unacceptable risk from lava flows, dense ash and falling volcanic rock. Dead and injured animals were lying on the ground, around them scorched homes and smoky vegetation.
Soldiers were also seen setting up roadblocks and people were carrying their belongings and leading farm animals to safety.
Officials had earlier said six people died after the volcanic eruption.
"If Mount Sinabung continues to erupt, the volcanic ash could reach Peninsular Malaysia after May 25 or 26", he said in a statement yesterday.
Gembar and three other villages are a 2.5 mile red alert zone areound the magma mount declared in October 2014, when almost 5,000 people were evacuated during earlier eruptions a nd 14 people perished.
An agency spokesperson said nine people had been affected by the hot clouds, and three remained in a critical condition.
The volcano is now still spewing ash, which is detrimental to rescue operations, but on Sunday security personnel even had to block some villagers from returning to collect their abandoned belongings.
Mount Sinabung is among the country's most active volcanoes.
Rescue teams have found survivors and are looking for others, searching homes and farms in the remote Gamber village.
According to The Jakarta Post, the Gamber village of Karo regency in North Sumatra, was declared a red zone when Mt Sinabung erupted at 4:48 p.m. on Saturday.
The victims were farming within the "red zone" when they were consumed by pyroclastic clouds.
Indonesian soldiers and villagers conduct search and rescue operations at Gamber village. The volcano in western Indonesian unleashed hot clouds of ash on Saturday, killing sever al villagers, officials said.
Source: Volcano erupts in western Indonesia, killing 6 people
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