A volcano in western Indonesia that has been spewing clouds of searing gas high into the air released a powerful new burst on Wednesday.

Authorities are closely monitoring Mount Sinabung on the island of Sumatra after placing it at the highest alert level last week.

Hot ash tumbled down Sinabung's slopes up to 2.5 kilometers from its smoldering mouth, government vulcanologist Surono said. He urged villagers to stay out of the main danger zone, which stretches 7 kilometers to the southeast of the crater. No injuries were reported.