Jakarta, Dec 31 (IANS): Mount Sinabung, one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, erupted Tuesday, spewing hot ash up to 7,000 metres high along with lava and forcing evacuation, an official said.

Hot lava burst forth with flames from the crater and slid off the southeast slope of the volcano, leading the authorities to warn all residents nearby to evacuate, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of disaster management and mitigation agency, told Xinhua by phone.

"The people are asked to evacuate, especially those living on the southeast side of the mountain as hot lava and ash keep bursting to the direction," Xinhua quoted Sutopo as saying.

The rumbling volcano started minor eruption Monday afternoon and erupted intermittently for seven times, according to the spokesman.

He added that there were no casualties.

The 2,457-metre Mount Sinabung in Karo district of North Sumatra has rumbled to life since September after being quiet for 400 years, but it went into overdrive in November, forcing the authorities to extend evacuation zone to within a radius of 5 km from 3 km.

The Mount Sinabung is among the 129 active volcanoes in the vast archipelago country, which is prone to seismic upheaval as it lays on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" encircling the Pacific Ocean.