Jakarta: The death toll following the eruption of a volcano on Indonesia’s island, Java has risen to 13, with seven people still missing, officials said Sunday.

As per details, more than 300 families with children took shelter in badly hit Curah Kerobokan village in Lumajang after their houses were destroyed by volcanic ash and lava.

Several villages were blanketed with falling ash in Indonesia’s most densely populated island.  

As per Eko Budi Lelono, who heads the geological survey center, a thunderstorm and days of rain, which eroded and collapsed the lava dome atop the 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Semeru, triggered the eruption.

Videos shared on Saturday by the country’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) showed residents running in panic as towering smoke and ash blanketed some nearby villages in Lumajang district.

As per reports, thick columns of ash have turned several villages to darkness and several hundred people were moved to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas.

Authorities were setting up evacuation tents, but evacuations have been hampered by thick smoke, BNPB chief Suharyanto said.

Catatan yang dihimpun Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG), guguran lava pijar teramati dengan jarak luncur kurang lebih 500-800 meter dengan pusat guguran berada kurang lebih 500 meter di bawah kawah. pic.twitter.com/i3IorFweRf

— BNPB Indonesia (@BNPB_Indonesia) December 4, 2021

The eruption took place at about 14:30 local time (07:30 GMT). Local authorities have set up a restricted zone within 5km (3 miles) from the crater.

Airlines have been warned of an ash cloud rising up to 15,000m (50,000 ft).

Mt Semeru was quite an active volcano that regularly spewed ash up to about 4,300m, but Yesterday’s eruption was a pretty intense.

Mt Semeru rises 3 676m above sea level and previously erupted last December, forcing thousands of residents to seek shelter. It is among Indonesia’s nearly 130 active volcanoes.

Moreover, Indonesia is on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates meet, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.

Videos shared by emergency officials and local media showed residents running away as a giant ash cloud rose behind them.

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Sunday has announced that the multi-billion Green Line bus project will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on December 10.

Asad Umar took to his official Twitter handle and made the announcement.

Umar said in his tweet that the premier will inaugurate Karachi’s first modern transport system, Green Line BRT, on the 10th of December.

The PM @ImranKhanPTI will inshallah inaugurate Karachi’s first modern transport system, greenline BRT, on the 10th of December.

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) December 5, 2021

The minister earlier in the day announced that the commercial operation of the Green Line bus project will begin from December 25

Karachi’s Green Line BRT project with intersections is 24 km long which includes 12.7 km elevated, 10.9 km at grade, and 422 meters underground, and has 25 stations.

The phase-II common corridor from Gurumandir up to Municipal Park with a length of 2.5 km has two underpasses at M.A Jinnah Road.

The state-of-art subversive bus terminal with a parking facility and the commercial mezzanine floor was being also being constructed at Numaish. The construction work on Phase-I was started in 2016.

London: Eileen Ash, the oldest-ever Test cricketer, has died at the age of 110, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Saturday.

Ash, a right-arm seam bowler, who made her Test debut against Australia in 1937, represented England seven times on either side of World War II, retiring in 1949.

She worked with British intelligence during the war and played golf until the age of 98.

Ash was honoured by being chosen to ring the bell at Lord’s before England Women’s victory in the 2017 World Cup final.

ECB managing director of women’s cricket Clare Connor said: “Our sport owes so much to its pioneers and Eileen was one of them. I am deeply saddened to be saying goodbye to her today.

“(England captain) Heather (Knight) and I went to visit Eileen about six months before the 2017 Women’s World Cup — she was 105 at the time — and it was one of the most remarkable experiences.

“Eileen taught Heather yoga, we played snooker, we drank cups of tea and we leafed through newspapers and scrapbooks celebrating Eileen’s time as a player in the 1930s and 1940s.

“She regaled us with some amazing stories, including how she came to have her bat signed by Sir Donald Bradman at a French restaurant in Sydney in 1949.”

SOURCE: AFP