Indonesian volcano erupts, no word on casualties

SLEMAN, Indonesia Oct 26 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, the head of the country's vulcanology agency said, a day after thousands of villagers were evacuated from the slopes of the volcano on Java island.

Surono, head of the vulcanology and geological disaster mitigation centre, said Merapi erupted on Tuesday evening, a day after the agency raised the alert status to the highest level.

There was no word on any casualties. Authorities had been trying since Monday to evacuate more than 11,000 villagers living on the volcano's slopes.

In a 1994 eruption after the volcano's lava dome collapsed, 70 people were killed. The volcano killed 1,300 people in 1930.

(Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Andrew Marshall)