Purple haze: Incredible moment sky changes colour as lightning bolt strikes above erupting Mount Sinabung volcano in Indonesia
- The sky above an erupting volcano in North Sumatra, Indonesia was turned electric purple by lightning bolts
- Mount Sinabung in Karo erupted last week, spewing hot ash 16,400ft into the sky and depositing it in villages
- Lightning struck as the volcano continued to send ash and smoke into the air, casting a purple haze in the sky The sky above an erupting volcano in Indonesia has turned a stunning electric purple during a lightning storm.
Spectacular images captured the spectacle as Mount Sinabung in Karo, North Sumatra, continued to spew a column of ash and smoke up to 16,400ft (5km) into the sky as lightning bolts crackled above.
Sinabung leapt back into life last week, with 13 separate blasts on Tuesday alone, and it continued to shoot volcanic debris for several days afterwards.The purple skies - which can be caused by the scattering of white light due to moisture, haze and dust in the air - were captured by photographers on Friday using long exposures.
Lightning strikes near Mount Sinabung with ash and smoke continuing to be spewed high into the air above Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, turning the sky this vivid hue of purple
Mount Sinabung in Karo, North Sumatra, erupted early last week with hot ash climbing 16,400ft into the sky and volcanic debris depositing on nearby villages. The volcano continued to send material into the sky for several days
The incredible images showing the lightning striking above the volcano in the purple sky were captured using a long exposure
Sinabung, a 8,530-feet-tall volcano, had been dormant for centuries but has come back to life with regular, deadly eruptions over the past ten years.
Two people were killed in the first in 2010, before 16 people died in an eruption in 2014. Seven more perished two years later.
Last week's eruption did not claim any victims, but Muhammad Nurul Asrori, a monitoring officer at Sinabung, said the plume of smoke and ash was the largest he had seen since 2010.
Officials had earlier urged people to stay at least two miles (3.2km) from the crater, Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre said.
Locals were instructed by Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre to avoid at least a two-mile radius around the crater. Molten lava was seen spilling out from nearby Naman Teran village. 'The residents are scared, many are staying indoors to avoid the thick volcanic ash,' Roy Bangun, 41, told AFP news agency.
There was no evacuation order and no reported flight disruption.
People watch as Mount Sinabung erupts in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 2. The 2,600-meter volcano spewed materials a few thousand yards into the sky and deposited ash on nearby villages
Mount Sinabung's activity has increased since last year and the alert for the volcano in North Sumatra province has been placed at the second-highest level. Pictured: People watch from a market in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, March 2, 2021
Sinabungwas dormant for centuries before roaring back to life in 2010 when an eruption killed two people.
After another period of inactivity, it erupted again in 2013 and has remained highly active since.
In 2014, an eruption killed at least 16 people, while seven died in a 2016 blast.
Mount Sinabung's activity has increased since last year and the alert for the volcano in North Sumatra province has been placed at the second-highest level.
Indonesia - an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and islets - has nearly 130 active volcanoes.
It sits on the 'Ring of Fire', a belt of tectonic plate boundaries circling the Pacific Ocean where frequent seismic activity occurs.
Mount Merapi on Java island, one of the world's most active volcanoes, also erupted last week, spewing lava down one of its flanks.
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