The eruption of Mount Marapi in western Indonesia has left nearby towns covered in volcanic ash.

Footage taken in the town of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, 9.32 miles from the mountain, was blanketed with volcanic ash and sand on December 3rd.

Firefighters were deployed to clear roads and tourist areas of the ashfall.

Officer Togu Marulak Simarmata said they had been asked by Bukittinggi mayor Erman Safar to clear the town of Marapi eruption dust.

"Cleaning up the ash from the Marapi eruption, there are many people in Jam Gadang Park and there is a lot of ash, people are not wearing masks, so we are cleaning up and here we got information that a person in a vehicle slipped and fell," Officer Simarmata commented.

The eruption killed 23 people as of December 7th, most of them hikers who were on the mountain when it erupted.

Indonesia's Mount Marapi erupts, leaving towns covered in volcanic ash (3 December 2023).

Footage taken in the town of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra province, 9.32 miles from the mountain in Agam regency, was blanketed with volcanic ash and sand.

Firefighters have been deployed to clear roads and tourist centres of material from the Marapi eruption.

Officer Togu Marulak Simarmata said they had been asked by Bukittinggi mayor Erman Safar to clear the town of Marapi eruption dust.

Tourists left the crowded centres in online minibuses blanketed in volcanic dust.

"Cleaning up the ash from the Marapi eruption, there are many people in Jam Gadang Park and there is a lot of ash, people are not wearing masks, so we are cleaning up and here we got information that a person in a vehicle slipped and fell," Officer Simarmata added.

The Marapi volcano observation post, Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), in Bukittinggi released

Marapi eruption on Sunday, December 3 2023. As of 00.00 local time, Thursday (December 7, 2023) the number of eruptions reached 65 times and gusts 260 times.

Marapi mount eruption kills 23 hikers.