Indonesia's Mount Merapi spews Lava
'Pakistan Times' Foreign Desk

MOUNT MERAPI (Indonesia): Indonesia's Mount Merapi continued to spew lava and searing clouds of gas and ash Sunday as geologists maintained the top danger alert on the smoldering volcano.

Despite losing Friday a huge chunk of the lava dome forming at its peak which lessened the danger of a major eruption, geologists said the volcano -- whose name means "Mountain of Fire" -- still posed a threat.

"The 'Beware' status remains as there are no indications that could point otherwise," said an official of the vulcanology office in Yogyakarta just south of the volcano.

The rumbling volcano's activities remained significant, although its lava dome lost around 1.3 million cubic meters of material on Friday evening, releasing heat clouds of gas and ash that reached down five kilometers (three miles) on its southeastern slope.

On Sunday the volcano spewed a large trail of heat clouds that went four kilometers down its southern slope.

Merapi's deadliest eruption occurred in 1930 when more than 1,300 people were killed.●