JAKARTA, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Mount Sinabung in western Indonesia erupted on Monday, spewing a column of ashes, volcanologist Nia Hairani said.

The 2,460-meter-high volcano in North Sumatra province erupted at 8:33 a.m. local time (0133 GMT), spreading hot ashes by up to 1,000 meters, the volcanologist said.

Tourist or visitors are banned from entering a radius of 6 km from the crater, she added.

Mount Sinabung is one of the 129 active volcanos in Indonesia situated on a quake-prone zone of "the pacific Ring of Fire."