The Mount Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupted on Saturday sparking panic as clouds of ash covered residents living nearby.

Large clouds of smoke and ash were spewed more than 40,000ft in the air from the volcano between Malang and Lumajang regencies, in East Java province.

People were seen running in panic as the dark cloud towered above them,

In some places volcanic ash covered the sky and plunged the area into darkness.

The head of the East Java Provincial Disaster Management Agency, Budi Santosa, said the eruption occurred at around 3 pm local time.

'Residents have been advised to stay away from areas around the river that originates at Mount Semeru,'

Budi Santosa said in a statement. In addition to raining volcanic ash, cold lava also flowed through several rivers. Officials said that so far were no casualties have been reported from the eruption.

Mount Semeru is one of the active volcanic mountains in Indonesia and has a height of 3,676 meters.