JAKARTA, May 18 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province erupted multiple times on Sunday, prompting the country's Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Centre to issue its highest aviation alert.

The strongest eruption occurred at 14:05 local time, sending a massive ash column up to 6,000 metres into the sky. 

Authorities raised the Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) to red level, the highest warning, advising aircraft to avoid flying below 6,000 metres near the volcano due to hazardous ash.