Indonesia: Volcano eruption leaves five people dead

Image: AFP. The volcano erupts.

Five people have been killed in a volcanic eruption on a tiny Island in Indonesia, officials have said. Mount Rokatenda, which is on the island of Palue, spewed rocks and ash into the air - with hot ash covering a nearby beach resulting in the deaths of three adults and two children, officials say. The volcano had been rumbling since late last year, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people - and it is understood that those killed were inside an exclusion zone. A spokesperson for Indonesia's volcanology agency said it was not clear what they were doing inside the exclusion zone. The eruption began at 04.27 on Saturday and last nearly four hours, the spokesperson said.