The tallest volcano on the Indonesian island of Java has erupted, killing at least 14 people and sending huge clouds of ash into the air.
Indonesia’s president has ordered a fast response to find and treat victims of the eruption.
Seven people are missing, with smouldering debris and thick mud hampering search efforts.
Mount Semeru in the Lumajang district of East Java spewed giant clouds of ash at around 7pm local time (12pm UK) on Saturday and sent people fleeing in panic.
A volcano monitoring body said the ash clouds had risen up to 50,000ft in the air, with witnesses claiming they had blacked out the sun in some places.
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A disaster mitigation agency official said at least 14 people were killed after the eruption. Two of them have been identified. Nearly 100 people have been injured, including two pregnant women, and over 1,300 have been evacuated.
The official added that forecast rain for the next few days could hamper resuce efforts.
Ten people who had been trapped in mines around the volcano have been brought to safety.
Around 30 buildings and a bridge were destroyed in the eruption, which was accompanied by thunderstorms that hampered evacuation efforts.
Several villages were blanketed with falling ash, and television reports showed people screaming and running under a huge ash cloud, their faces wet from rain mixed with volcanic dust.
A thunderstorm and days of rain, which eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop the 3,676-metre (12,060-foot) Semeru, triggered the eruption, said Eko Budi Lelono, who heads the geological survey centre.
He said flows of searing gas and lava travelled up to 800 metres (2,624 feet) to a nearby river at least twice on Saturday.
Lumajang district head Thoriqul Haq told TVOne: “Thick columns of ash have turned several villages to darkness.”
He added that a number of people had been moved to temporary shelters or nearby secure areas.
The transportation ministry issued a notice for all airlines to avoid routes near the volcano, but said flight operations were still running as scheduled and that authorities would continue to monitor the situation.
The 12,060ft volcano last erupted in January, causing no deaths.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.
Read more: Ring of fire – why does Indonesia have so many earthquakes?