By Kathy Quiano
February 1, 2014
Photo courtesy bbc.co.uk
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) – At least 11 people were killed when a volcano erupted in Indonesia on Saturday, a government official told CNN.
Mt. Sinabung in North Sumatra erupted Saturday morning, disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told CNN.
The victims were hit by hot ash clouds and were all found in Sukameriah, a village close to the volcano’s crater, he said.
The volcano spewed ash columns 2,000 meters high and hot ash clouds down its slope, Nugroho said.
The Jakarta Post reported last Sunday, Jan. 26, when eruptions began: that more than 20,000 people have been evacuated from villages around the crater into several temporary shelters since authorities raised the alert status for Sinabung to the highest level in November.
“We were tired here … we’ve lost everything. We wonder about our lives after this disaster,” said Anton Sitepu, a father of four who is among the villagers in a cramped shelter in Telagah village.
The 2,600-meter (8,530-foot) Mount Sinabung has sporadically erupted since September. An eruption in 2010 killed two people and caught scientists off guard because the volcano had been quiet for four centuries.