An eruption at a 1,300-metre-high Indonesian volcano has trigged the highest alert level, according to the national Geological Agency on Friday. The ash column from Mount Ibu on the island of Halmahera reached a height of 4 kilometres in recent days.

Thousands of islanders are set to be evacuated after a volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia, spewing a towering column of smoke and ash into the atmosphere, officials said Wednesday.

Authorities have begun evacuating 3,000 residents near the Mount Ibu volcano on Indonesia's eastern island of Halmahera, the disaster agency said on Thursday (January 16), after an eruption this week sent a cloud of thick grey ash as high as four-km (2.

This is the spectacular moment the Mount Ibu volcano erupted, sending a towering column of ash skywards in Indonesia today. Footage shows thick grey smoke billowing thousands of feet into the air, leaning towards the west and northwest in West Halmahera Regency,

Mount Ibu, located on the remote island of Halmahera, erupted on Wednesday, sending a column of smoke up to four kilometres (2.5 miles) into the sky.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) indicated that over three thousand people residing in West Halmahera District, North Maluku Province, may need to evacuate due to increased volcanic activity at Mount Ibu.

Mount Ibu, a volcano on Indonesia's Halmahera island, erupted Wednesday, sending four-kilometer high ash clouds into the sky. Authorities raised the alert level and advised against activities within five kilometers of the crater.

Indonesia on Wednesday raised the volcanic alert status of Mount Ibu, located in the country's eastern province of North Maluku, to the highest level following its increasing volcanic activity. Standing at 1,325 meters high, the volcano has reportedly erupted continuously for several days. (BNPB/Handout via Xinhua)

Authorities in Indonesia are rushing to evacuate 3,000 residents near the Mount Ibu volcano after it erupted for a third time in just a few days, sending a 2.5-mile-high ash cloud into the sky. The volcano,