Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province blasted volcanic ash as high as 3 kilometers (2 miles) into the sky on Saturday, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said ash tumbled down the slopes as far as 4.5 kilometers (3 miles) westward into a river.
All the victims of Saturday's eruption were working on their farms in the village of Gamber, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away from the slope, or within the danger area.
Photos taken on Sunday showed evidence of pyroclastic flows, a fast-moving cloud of hot volcanic gases, rocks and ash, in the village. Dead and injured animals lie on the ground, around them scorched homes and smoky vegetation. Soldiers were setting up roadblocks and people were carrying their belongings and leading farm animals to safety.
Nugroho said soldiers, police, and rescuers from disaster combatting agencies, as well as volunteers and villagers, were searching for more possible victims, AP reported.
The mountain had been dormant for four centuries before reviving in 2010, killing two people. An eruption in 2014 killed 16 people.
Mount Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.