<p><br /> Scientists have warned that pressure building beneath the dome of Indonesia's most volatile volcano could trigger the most powerful explosion in years.<br /> </p><p><br /> At least 18 people were killed, including a two-month-old baby, according to doctors and media reports.<br /> </p><p><br /> Footage broadcast on the private station, Metro TV, showed smoke pouring out of Mount Merapi, obscuring its cone.<br /> </p><p><br /> Police and volunteers were shown carrying ash-covered corpses out of damaged homes in a mountainside village, some wrapped in blankets and yellow body bags.<br /> </p><p><br /> Thousands of villagers started streaming off the 2,968-metre high mountain as darkness fell on Tuesday, crowding into makeshift emergency shelters.<br /> </p><p><br /> Earlier, many had refused to budge, saying they wanted to tend to crops along the volcano's fertile slopes and protect their homes against looters.<br /> </p><p><br /> While there are fears the current activity could foreshadow a much more destructive explosion in the coming weeks or months, Gede Swantika, a government volcanologist, said the mountain appeared to be releasing some pressure building up beneath the lava dome.<br /> </p>
