A volcano on the remote island of Halmahera erupted massively and sent a cloud of ash into the sky, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from seven nearby villages, Indonesian authorities said on Sunday.

Ibo volcano erupted on Saturday evening, sending ash four kilometers high, with lines of purple lightning appearing around the crater, according to information and photos published by the Indonesian Volcanology Agency.

Abdul Mahari of the National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that a joint team of police, army and search and rescue officials had been sent to the area to evacuate residents from surrounding villages.

Pictures published by the authority showed assistance operations for the elderly, and residents were transported in small trucks to shelters during the night.

The authority did not provide any information about the number of people transported, but the authorities recommended evacuating an area with a radius of seven kilometers.

Indonesia’s volcanology agency raised the warning level for the volcano to the highest level on Thursday, after it erupted several times earlier this month.

Ibo’s activity comes in the wake of a series of different volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, which is located on the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean and has 127 active volcanoes.