Indonesia warns airlines over active volcano

Jakarta, May 24 (IANS) The Indonesian Transport Ministry has issued a warning to airliners alerting them about volcanic ash from the country's most active Merapi volcano in Java island, ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said on Thursday.

The warning was issued at 3.56 a.m. on Thursday by the AirNav Indonesia, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the spokesman as saying. "The airliners are advised to be cautious about the volcanic ash," he said.

A further evaluation would be undertaken after the issuance of the advice, said Bambang.

Mount Merapi, located at the borders of Central Java province and Yogyakarta province, erupted earlier on Thursday with an ash column spewed as high as 6,000 metres into the sky.

Residents in the affected areas have been advised to use masks, the National Volcanology Agency said. Mount Merapi, the most active one of Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes, has regularly erupted since 1948.