Hundreds of Indonesians flee as Java volcano belches hot gas

JAKARTA: More than 550 people fled their village after a volcano in Indonesia’s East Java province spewed searing gas down its slopes early Tuesday, the country’s disaster management agency said. The alert level for the Semeru volcano in Lumajang district remained at one notch above normal despite the eruption, said agency spokesman Raditya Jati. There were no reports of casualties, but the fleeing villagers were in urgent need of food and masks, he said. “A public kitchen is being prepared and health authorities are distributing masks with the help of soldiers and police,” he said. Semeru is the second Indonesian volcano to have come to life in recent days.  On Sunday, authorities raised the Lewatolo volcano on Lembata island the second-highest level following a series of eruptions, officials said. The eruptions forced the evacuation of nearly 3,000 people and the closure of the island’s airport.  Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area known for seismic upheavals, and has about 128 active volcanoes. Meanwhile, hundreds of Papuans held rallies across at least eight cities in Indonesia on Tuesday to renew calls for independence, as a separatist group declared it had established a provisional government in exile. The demonstrations marked the anniversary of West Papua declaring independence from Dutch rule in 1961, which was followed by a contentious UN-sanctioned referendum in 1969 that brought Papua under Indonesian control. — Agencies