Volcano eruption kills geologists

Two geologists have been killed and four others injured in Indonesia after a volcano erupted while they were working near the crater.

The six geologists, from Indonesia, America and Israel, were carrying out research on Mount Semeru in eastern Java, when it started spewing rocks and lava.

Two Indonesian geologists were killed after falling around 20 metres from the rim.

The others were hit by stones which seriously injured one of the Americans. He has now been flown to a hospital in Singapore.

Police said the volcano had erupted on Thursday but news of the casualties only emerged on Monday.

They said rescue efforts had been hampered by bad weather, leaving the geologists stranded for more than a day on Mount Semeru.

A police team eventually had to climb up the volcano to find them after helicopters failed to reach them.

Vulcanic chain

Reports did not identify the two dead geologists but said they came from the Bandung Institute of Technology.

The injured volcanologists were named as Paul Timberly, Nike Ramsey, Lee Siebert and Hamid Mushin.

Reports said they were rescued on Saturday.

But police had not been able to retrieve the two bodies until Sunday.

The 3,676 metre (12,277 foot) high Semeru volcano sits on the volcanic chain that runs the length of Sumatra and Java.

The volcanologists had been observing the rim for more than a week.