More than a dozen people have reportedly been killed, after a volcano erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. <br /><br />A thick cloud of ash spewed into the air, engulfing people in a nearby village. <br /><br />The 2,460 metre-high Mount Sinabung had been dormant for four centuries. But it has become increasingly active in recent months and the volcano has been put on its highest alert status.<br /><br />The government has evacuated 38-thousand people from the area.<br /><br />“The hot cloud caught the victims by surprise,” said Meyer Putong, from the evacuation team. <br /><br />“It happened very quickly. They were in Suka Meriah village,” he continued. <br /><br />This is the first time the volcano is known to have claimed lives. And there is a fear that it could have killed more – with evacuations called off because of the risk of further eruptions. <br /><br />Sinabung, along with dozens of other volcanoes, stands on the “Ring of Fire” volcanic belt around the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
