A volcano on Indonesia's Sulawesi island erupted Thursday, sending ash raining down on at least one village and spewing smoke about 1,500 metres into the air, an official said.
Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi province erupted at around 9:15 am (0115 GMT) but people living in the sparsely-populated area have not been evacuated, said Sandy, a scientist at the volcano's monitoring post.
"The smoke reached between 1,000 and 1,500 metres high and winds have begun to blow ash and dust particles towards the west," Sandy told AFP, adding that the village of Silean on the western slopes of the mountain had been blanketed.
The scientist said that the activity at the 1,783-metre (5,955-foot) volcano was not considered dangerous enough to warrant evacuations.
Soputan, one of Sulawesi's most active volcanoes, last erupted in 2004, when similar smoke shot from its crater along with hot clouds of volcanic debris, and lava oozed down its southwest slope.
No fatalities were recorded.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. The archipelago nation is home to 129 active volcanoes, including 21 on Java.
