Mount Lokon spews volcanic ash more than a mile into the air as it erupts in Tomohon, North Sulawesi province, Indonesia March 25. Residents were advised to keep a safe distance after the early morning eruption. Indonesia has about 500 volcanoes, 128 of them classified as active and 65 listed as dangerous. Mount Lokon has been erupting since July 2011, including just a few days ago.

Mount Lokon, which has erupted 800 times since July, spewed hot lava and volcanic ash as high as 10,000 feet on Monday, according to an Indonesian government official. -- Reuters

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AP says: A volcano erupted Thursday in central Indonesia, spitting lava and smoke thousands of feet into the air and sending panicked residents in the area fleeing, disaster officials said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The first blast at Mount Lokon occurred at 10:46 p.m., forcing the evacuation of 500 residents living along its slopes, said Brian Rulrone, a disaster management agency official.

It was followed by a second eruption just after midnight and a third at 1:10 a.m.

Darwis Sitinjak, another disaster official, told El Shinta radio from the scene that soldiers and police were helping rescuers get people off the mountain. They join 2,000 others who had been evacuated as a precaution on Wednesday.

The 5,740-foot (1,750-meter) mountain in north Sulawesi province is one of about 129 active volcanos in Indonesia.

Its last major eruption in 1991 killed a Swiss hiker and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.