JAKARTA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Semeru volcano in Indonesia's East Java province erupted on Saturday, injuring several villagers as a bridge and many houses were damaged during evacuation, officials said.

"Several people are suffering wounds, as they panicked when escaping the eruption. They have been rushed to health clinics," the Lumajang District Police's Chief Eka Yekti Hananto told TVOne.

Coordinator of the Volcano Disaster Mitigation of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) Kristianto said that the spread of the hot clouds was about five km to the southeast of the crater.

"The hot clouds tend to spread above the surface of several rivers, the lowest grounds, as they were affected by gravitation," the official told Xinhua.

"This is dangerous for those having activities on the rivers, such as sand miners and others," Kristianto said.

Kristianto added that the height of the volcanic ash could not be observed as the volcano was covered by the clouds, but he forecast it ranged between 200 and 500 meters to the sky.

The volcanic materials spewed by the volcano amid heavy downpours have created thick mud, hampering the mobility of the PVMBG's officials in monitoring the volcano, Kristianto said.

The local disaster agency officials immediately urged the sand miners along the rivers to evacuate as the hot clouds were spotted, said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency's acting spokesperson.

He said the monitoring post reported that the hot clouds started spreading from the crater at 3:10 p.m. Jakarta time (8:10 a.m. GMT).

The evacuation of villagers living on the slope of the volcano is under way now, and several evacuation centers have been established, he said in a statement received by Xinhua.

Risk assessment of the impacts of the eruption is being carried out, according to him.

The eruption has damaged a bridge and scores of houses, said the Lumajang District Head, Thoriqul Hag, and an evacuee in interviews with the TVOne.

"One bridge collapsed. There is one sub-district where villagers have to be evacuated. The evacuation of the people is under way now," the district head said, adding that the evacuation could be hampered due to the damaged transport facility.

A village affected by the eruption could not be accessed due to hot lava, said Andi A Wibowo, commander of the Lumajang District Command.

The village is passed by the Kobokan river where miners were mining. More than 100 soldiers have been deployed to help the evacuation, Wibowo told the local television station.

He received reports that two people went missing and another one suffered wounds caused by hot clouds. Enditem

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