Indonesia’s Mt. Sinabung spews massive smoke-and-ash column

An Indonesian man takes picture of Mount Sinabung volcano as it spews thick volcanic ash into the air in Karo, North Sumatra on February 19, 2018. -AFP

KARO: An Indonesian volcano erupted Monday, sending a massive column of ash and smoke some 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) into the air, leaving local villages coated in debris and officials scrambling to hand out face masks to residents.

Mount Sinabung on Sumatra island, which has been rumbling since 2010 and saw a deadly eruption in 2016, spewed the thick plume after activity picked up recent days.