<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Indonesia's Anak Krakatoa volcano erupted on Friday, belching a column of ash more than three kilometres into the sky,&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">officials said.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The volcanic island emerged from the sea at the beginning of the last century&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">from the crater formed after the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa -- one of&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">the deadliest and most destructive in history.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Anak Krakatoa, which means "Child of Krakatoa", spewed thick ash over the&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">strait that separates the islands of Java and Sumatra.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties after the eruption at&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">08:46 am (0146 GMT).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"The height of the eruption column was observed to be 3,000 metres (nearly&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">10,000 feet) above the summit," Deny Mardiono, an official from the Krakatoa&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">monitoring station, said in a press release.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"The ash column was observed to be grey to black with thick intensity to the&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">southwest."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He warned the public not to carry out activities within a five-kilometre&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(three-mile) radius of the volcano's crater.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anak Krakatoa's status was at the second-highest warning level after&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">authorities raised it in 2022 following a sharp rise in volcanic activity.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Its crater partly collapsed in 2018 when a major eruption sent huge chunks&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">sliding into the ocean, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 400 people&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">and injured thousands.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago nation, sits on the Pacific Ring of&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">seismic activity.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.&nbsp; AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>