More lava spews as volcano's dome grows

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2006

JAKARTA (AFP) — More lava spewed from the peak of Indonesia's Mount Merapi as the volcano's dome grew, sparking fears of an imminent eruption.

"The new lava dome has grown about 60 meters, with volume from 300,000 cubic-meters a few days ago to one million cubic-meters now," said Dewi Sri of the volcanology office in Yogyakarta, the city closest to the volcano.

A lava dome is a mound-shaped growth resulting from the eruption of high-silica lava from a volcano that can become unstable leading to one of the most lethal forms of volcanic event.

Sulfurous smoke also billowed up 600 meters (yards) from the volcano's peak but this was not dangerous, Dewi Sri said.

Monitors have observed 24 lava trails flowing into a valley near the peak since Friday, she...