Lumajang, Indonesia | The death toll following the eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java has risen to 13, with seven people still missing, officials said on Sunday as smouldering debris and thick mud hampered search efforts.

Mount Semeru in Lumajang district in East Java province spewed thick columns of ash more than 12,000 metres into the sky, and searing gas and lava flowed down its slopes after a sudden eruption on Saturday triggered by heavy rains. Several villages were blanketed with falling ash.

AP