A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted on Sunday morning, spewing an ash tower more than two miles into the sky and prompting officials to warn people to keep away.
Mount Ibu, located on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, erupted at 12:37 am (1537 GMT Saturday) and sent a thick column of dark smoke and ash west of the peak.
The eruption lasted more than three minutes and the ash towered 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) above the peak, an official at Mount Ibu's monitoring post, Axl Roeroe, said in a statement on Sunday.
"To residents and tourists near Mount Ibu, please do not conduct any activity within a two-kilometre radius (of the crater)," he said.
The alert level for the 1,325-metre (4,347-foot) volcano remained at a two on the four-tiered system and there was no evacuation order after the eruption.
But authorities urged people to wear face masks and glasses when doing outdoor activities and to anticipate falling volcanic ash.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".
Earlier this month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi erupted, forcing thousands of people to evacuate.
The Sam Ratulangi International Airport in the city of Manado, located more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the crater, was also shut for days.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Indonesian Volcano Erupts, Forces 7 Villages To Evacuate Indonesia's Semeru Volcano Erupts 5 Times In 90 Minutes, Km-High Ash Cloud Indonesian Volcano Erupts, Spews Ash 5 Kilometers Into Sky AAP's Atishi To Be Delhi's New Chief Minister, Chosen By Arvind Kejriwal "Your Duty...": Chief Justice On Bengal's 'No Night Shift For Women' Note AAP Asks Its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal To Quit Over Atishi Remarks Rahul Gandhi Extends Birthday Greetings To PM Modi "I'm A Rapist, She Did Not Deserve This": Man Who Let 50 Men Rape His Wife I Also Want To Be Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar Breaks His Silence Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.