Volcano erupts as purple lightning flashes around crater in dramatic photos

Mount Ibu erupts as lighting that looks purple erupts around the crater (Picture: Indonesian Geological Agency/AFP)

A volcano in Indonesia erupted last night, spewing a massive cloud of ash into the sky as purple lighting flashed around the crater.

Dramatic pictures show the unusual phenomenon at Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera home to 700,000 people.

Seven nearby villages were forced to evacuate, the authorities said.

The ash rose to around 4km (2.5 miles), Indonesia’s volcanology agency said, which raised the alert level for the volcano to the highest level on Thursday.

A joint team, made up of police, military and search and rescue officials was, dispatched to the area to evacuate residents from the villages, Abdul Muhari, from the disaster mitigation agency, said in a statement.

Photos shared by the disaster agency showed authorities helping the elderly, while other residents were moved into pick-up trucks and housed in emergency tents for the night.

Ibu’s eruption follows a series of others in Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ and has 127 active volcanoes.

Lava, ash and lighting at Mt Ibu(Picture: Indonesian Geological Agency/AFP)

Ash billowing out of Mount Ibu today (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Flash floods and cold lava flow from Mount Marapi, one of the most active in West Sumatra province, covered several nearby districts after torrential rain on May 11, killing more than 60 people.

In recent weeks, North Sulawesi’s Ruang volcano has also erupted, spewing lava.

The eruption prompted authorities to evacuate more than 12,000 people on a nearby island.

Last week, we shared video footage of one of the most active volcanoes in the world being struck by lightning.

Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala is an active stratovolcano famous for being almost constantly active at a low level.

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