Villagers flee volcano's gas, hot ash

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia (AP) -- Mount Merapi spewed a column of gas and sent clouds of hot ash tumbling down its slopes Thursday, causing 15,000 villagers to flee. Some jumped into rivers to escape the searing heat, and others sped off in trucks.
Indonesia's most dangerous volcano has been venting steam and ash for weeks, but Thursday's outburst at 9 a.m. was the largest yet. Dark gray clouds of hot ash and gas rolled 3 1/2 miles down the slope, said Sugiono, a government vulcanologist who like many Indonesians uses one name.
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