"We confirm that Mount Soputan erupted at 20.53 and it was clearly seen," head of the Minahasa Tenggara districts Disaster Mitigation Agency service, Joppie Mokodase, said.
He said the danger status of the volcano has been raised to Level III. "The geological agency raised the danger status to Level III minutes after it erupted," he said.
He said molten lava was seen flowing down along the eastern slope of the mountain.
"Molten lava can be seen flowing from the peak down the eastern side of the mountain and a crumbling sound was heard coming from the mountains peak," he said.
Joppie said he was still awaiting reports from the monitoring posts about areas that were vulnerable to the impact of the eruption.
"We are still waiting for information regarding the development from monitoring posts. As soon as we receive such information, we would immediately share it with the people living around the mountain," he said.
Mount Soputan, one of the most active volcanoes in North Sulawesi, last erupted in March 2015.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
