Volcano death toll doubles

Indonesia's Mount Merapi shows no sign of letting up, with another 54 people killed as a result of fresh eruptions.

Deadly clouds of ash and superheated gas have blighted the area on the outskirts of Yogyakarta city in Central Java for days.

Nearly 100 people have now died. Villages within a 20 km radius of the volcano have been cleared with 75,000 people fleeing their homes.

Rizal, a forensic doctor from Yogyakarta's police identification unit told Metro TV: "It is possible the death toll will rise as we continue to search for victims,".

A column of ash billowed at least 4 km above the crater of Mount Merapi as worried authorities evacuated villages within a 20 km radius of the volcano, said the country's top vulcanologist, Surono.

One photographer near the volcano said he saw blackened bodies being carried into Sardjito hospital on Friday morning.

"Their clothes had melted onto their skin," he said.

The air in Yogyakarta is now so thick with ash that motorists must drive with their headlights on during the day, he said. "We can't see anything, it's very dark. The trees are all white with ash," he said. "It's like it's raining sand."

Indonesia is also struggling with the aftermath of a tsunami in the remote Mentawai islands off Sumatra last week that killed at least 431.