Indonesia's Merapi volcano unleashes river of lava

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s volatile Mount Merapi volcano has unleashed a river of lava that flowed 4,590 feet down its slopes.

Kasbani, head of the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, says Merapi on the island of Java has entered an “effusive eruption phase.”

Kasbani, who goes by a single name, said the volcanic material that spewed out late Tuesday was the volcano’s longest lava flow since it began erupting again in August.

He says the alert level of the volcano has not been raised.

The 9,737-foot mountain, located near the ancient Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes.

Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.