Mt. Merapi spews sulfuric gas, ash

Mt. Merapi spewed sulfuric gas and ash as high as 1,500 meters on Sunday, raining a thin film of ash over villages located east and southwest of the volcano'€™s crater.

'€œThe ejection of sulfuric gas occurred at about 6:54 a.m. and resulted in ash falling over areas located 6 to 7 kilometers from the peak,'€ said Geological Disaster Research and Development Technology Center head Subandriyo.

He said villages affected by the ash included those in Klaten and Magelang regencies, Central Java. 

He suspected that the eruption was triggered by a earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale 115 kilometers southeast in Malang, East Java, on Sunday night