Volcano erupts in eastern Indonesia

Mount. Lokon in Tomohon of North Sulawesi in eastern parts of Indonesia erupted on Wednesday, spewing ash by up to 2,000 meters high and other volcanic materials, a volcanologist said. The eruption took place at 07:57 a.m. local time Wednesday ( 2257 GMT Tuesday), unleashed volcanic materials on the slope of the volcano, said Kristianto, head of monitoring and search of volcano for eastern Indonesia. Tourists and residence are not allowed to enter the territory of 2.5 km from the crater, he told Xinhua by phone. Nevertheless, there was no evacuation after the eruption, said Kristianto. Mount Lokon has started increasing seismic activity since end of June 2011, according to Volcanology Agency. Its eruption last year forced a massive evacuation after it killed a tourist in 1999 after an explosion. Indonesia, an archipelago country, is homed by 129 active volcanoes.