Mount Semeru eruption injures sand miner, prompts evacuations in East Java

Mount Semeru, Indonesia's most active volcano, erupted on Thursday at 06:15 local time, sending an ash column 4.5 km high and generating fast‑moving pyroclastic flows down the southeastern slope. The flows travelled about 4.5 km, prompting authorities to enforce a five‑kilometre exclusion zone around the crater and to order evacuations of nearby villages.

One sand miner, 33‑year‑old Very Irawan, was severely burned, with injuries covering roughly 80 % of his body, after a mass of unstable volcanic material collapsed into a river channel where he was collecting sand. He was taken to hospital for intensive treatment. Local officials reiterated repeated warnings against sand‑mining activities within the hazardous zone.

The regional disaster management agency deployed personnel to assist residents, advised the public to wear masks against ash fallout, and continued to monitor seismic activity. The eruption follows the typical activity pattern for Semeru but posed a significant immediate risk to life and property in East Java.